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1 




SENATOR JONES' WASHINGTON RESIDENCE, OCCUPIED BY PRESIDENT ARTHUR. 



OF 



JAMES A. GARFIELD 



AND 



CHESTER A. ARTHUR. 



WITH A 



BRIEF SKETCH OF THE ASSASSIN. 



ILLTJSTE.^^TE1I3- 



A COMPLETE RECORD OF PRESIDENT GARFIELD S LONG STRUGGLE WITH 

DEATH, INCLUDING THE DAILY BULLETINS, AND SELECTIONS FROM 

HIS BEST SPEECHES; ALSO, AN APPENDIX, GIVING ACCOUNTS 

OF ALL INAUGURATIONS FROM WASHINGTON TO 

GARFIELD, ALL PRESIDENTS WHO DIED IN 

OFFICE, AND ALL ASSASSINATIONS 

OF RULERS IN THE PRESENT — - 

CENTURY. 



I^JoQj^lyyJ 



/>*? V.St f n*' 

COMPILED BY 

BURTON T. DOYLE and HOMER H. SWANEY. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 

RuFus H. Dabby, Printer and Publisher. 

1881. 






Entered according to act of Congress, in tlie year 1881, by 

BUKTON T. DOYLE & HOMER H. SWANEY, 

in the oflace of the Librarian of Congress, at Wa^iington, D. C. 



PREFACE. 

In offering the following pages for the consideration of the public we 
hope to furnish an accurate and brief, but complete, history of the late aad 
unfortunate President, at the most reasonable price that it is possible for 
any one to offer. Whether we have succeeded or not we leave with the 
public ; and if the answer be in the affirmative we shall feel amply re- 
warded for our labors. 

DOYLE AND SWANEY. 

Washington, D. C, 

October 18, 1881. 



INTRODUCTION. 



It has been our earnest endeavor, in the compilation of this work, to pre- 
sent, in an epitomized form, a complete view of the life of our late and 
unfortunate President, and his successor, Chester Allan Arthur, as well as 
a brief sketch of the wretch who thrust the dagger into the nation's heart . 

The life of Garfield is divided into three distinct epochs, as most dis- 
tinctly marked out by the circumstances attending his brilliant career of 
eventful and inestimable services. 

Part I follows our nation's hero from his birth, through his early check- 
ered career, until we find him a delegate to the National Republican Con- 
vention at Chicago: 

In Part II we follow him from his nomination, through his brief but 
most masterly administration, including incidents of his campaign, to his 
most cruel and unnatural assassination ; and, in Part III, we go with him 
through all his prolonged suffering and*pain, giving the daily bulletins 
issued by the attending physicians, until the master spirit takes its farewell 
of earth ; then we follow that precious morsel of mortality, which was the 
earthly habitation of that spirit to its last resting-place on the shores of the 
beautiful Lake Erie, in Lake View Cemetery . 

In Part IV will be found a short but authentic history of the life of his 
successor, Chester Allan Arthur, now President of the United States, from 
his early life to his assuming the office of chief-magistracy of our mighty 
nation. 

Then, in Part V, we introduce our reader to the basest of mankind, (par- 
don such an introduction, dear reader,) Charles J. Guiteau, the assassin, 
who coveted notoriety to such an extent that he won it with the precious 
life-blood of one of our grandest Presidents. 

Last, but not least, we ask our reader to refer to Part VI, where he wil 1 
find multum in parvo — much history in very little space, which will be well 
worth the while necessary for its perusal. 



In compiling this work we have culled from various documents and 
pamphlets, besides drawing upon many newspapers, among which we 
acknowledge our indebtedness to the following : 

The New York Herald, New York Times, Chicago Inter-Ocean^ Chicago 
Times; Republican, Post, Evening Star, Sunday Herald, and Capital, of 
Washington; Indianapolis Journal, Louisville Courier Journal, Philadel- 
phia Times, Pittsburgh Weekly Gazette, and The Cleveland Leader. 

We are also indebted to the Saturday Republic and The Evening Critic 
of Washington, for the excellent illustrations. 



INDEX TO CONTENTS. 



PARI I. 

ChAPIER — PAGE 

I. Garfield's Early Life . , . . : . . .9 
II. His life at Seminary and College . . . • . 12 

III. His Military Career 14 

IV. His Career in Congress 18 

V. Defends himself 20 

VI. An Orator 23 

PART II. 

Chapter — 

I. Chicago Convention. Garfield nominated. His Letter of 

Acceptance 32 

II. The campaign and his election 41 

III. His Inauguration 47 

IV. His Administration 5g 

PART III. 

Chapter — 

I. The President shot 60 

II. Removed to the White House 61 

III. Removal to Long Branch, (Elberon, N. J.) . . . 145 

IV. His death 151 

V. Removal to Washington. Lying in state in the rotunda 

of the Capitol 161 

VI. Funeral at Cleveland, Ohio 173 

PART IV. 
Chapter — 

I. Arthur's Early Life 183 

11. Arthur in the War 184 

HI. His Political Career • . 188 

IV. He is informed of President's death. Sworn in . . 190 

V. His Letter of Acceptance. A remarkable coincident . 191 
VI. Formally sworn in. Inaugural Address . . . 194 

VII. His first proclamation. His family .... 196 

PART V. 

Sketch of the Assassin ....'..... 197 

APPENDICES. 

A.— Inagurations from Washington to Garfield 203 

B. — Presidents who died in office 218 

G. — ^Assassination of rulers within the century 223 




JAMES A. Garfield. 



LIFE OF JAMES A. GARFIELD. 



PART I. 



EARLY CAREER— MILITARY CAREER— CONGRESSIONAL 
CAREER, UNTIL THE CHICAGO CONVENTION. 

CHAPTER I. 

HIS EARLY LIFE. 

James Abram Garfield was born on the 19th of November, 1831, in a log cabin 
in the wilderness of Orange, Cuyahoga county, Ohio, fifteen miles from Men- 
tor. He came of a family that was noble, in the sense of virtue, courage, 
adventurousness of spirit, independence and loyalty to God, truth and coun- 
try. As far back as the twelfth century his family can be traced. At that 
time it had its seat at Luddington, Middlesex, in England, the crest of the 
house being a heart, with a hand rising o it of it, grasping a sword. The legend 
was vincit amor patriae, a motto which the late distinguished descendant of the 
family seemed ever to remember. This old ancestral record shows his Saxon 
origin, and his fair Saxon complexion, and Saxon temperament and physique 
were confirmatory evidences. The family came to this country as early as 1635, 
at which time Edward Garfield was recorded as one of the one hundred and six 
proprietors of Watertown, now a lovely suburb of Boston. But of him little 
is known, except that he was one of those quiet and heroic men who braved 
danger and privations for the sake of his religious belief, and tliat he lived to 
be ninety-seven years old, thereby, according to Carlyle's maxim, showing 
much virtue and setting an example to his descendants which has been well 
observed. In and around Watertown are buried five generations of the Gar- 
fields, including the first, Edward. The sixth Garfield in line of descent was 
Solomon, the great-grandfather of General Garfield. He pushed further on 
into what was then a wilderness beyond the Hudson, and helped to settle what 
is now the town of Worcester, N. Y. Here was born Thomas Garfield, who, 
when he grew old enough to wed, married Asenath Hill. To these two was 
born, in December, 1799, Abram, or Abraham, Garfield, the father of the late 
President. The father spelled his Christian name sometimes in one way and 
sometimes in another, but never disgraced either phase of the patriarchial title. 
He was famous as a wrestler and never met his match, though men would come 
from all parts of the counrty to wrestle with "Abe Garfield," as they called 
him. His father, Solomon, was offered a grindstone weighing five hundred 
pounds if he would carry it home. He put it on his shoulders and carried it 
home, a mile's distance, without even availing himself of the privilege of lean- 
ing against a fence. 

If from his father's side James A. Garfield inherited his physical strength, 
generosity, good nature, sense of humor, warm-heartedness and dash of cour- 
age, it was from his mother's side that he obtained his oratorical powers, imagi- 
nation and finer sentiments. His mother, Eliza Ballou, came of that purest, 
highest and most intelligent and most enduring race of involuntary colonists 
who were ever expelled for their religion from France, the Huguenot fugitives 



10 

from the edict of Nantes. Aniong the ITugnenot settlers was Ma*^'irin Ballon, 
who settled in Woonsocket, R. I. The faniily lived liere some time. James 
Ballon was taken np, when a boy. into the wilderness of New Hampshire, 
where his father cut out for his family a home in the forest, jnst north of the 
Massachusetts line. Pie grew np and married Mehitabel Ingalls, and on the 
21st of September, 1801, in Richmond. Cheshire county, N. H., Eliza Ballon, 
the mother of General Garfield, was born. When Srhe was eiaht years old, in 
the wild New Hampshire clearing, her father died. Her mother moved to the 
newly-settled commnnity of Worcester, N. Y., where she met Abram <Tarfield, 
who for five years was her playmate. Then her brother induced their mother 
to move to Ohio, and Eliza Ballon and Abram Garfield were for a while sepa- 
rated. But he did not forget her, and w-hen eighteen years old, with her mem- 
ory still in his heart, he set out for tlie Ohio wilderness and married her at the 
age of nineteen, she being a year younger. This was in Muskingum county, 
near Zanesville, in central Ohio. He was financially crippled in some contracts 
he had on hand connected with the building of the Oliio canal by a rise in 
prices, but he paid in full, and then, accompar.ied by a hab-brother, Amos 
Boynton, he struck ont for the wilderness of Orange, where, as stated, the future 
general and President was born, being tlie youngest of four children. 

He was only eighteen months old when a fire broke ont in the woods and 
threatened his father's wheat. The 1 itter, by extraordin ; ry exerti ns, diverted 
the fire and saved his cops. But he came in a' • ig!it heated and exhausted, 
and got sud enly chilled, a violent sore t'uoat following. Then a quack came 
along, and putting a blister aronnd his throa*" drew rn that p'ace every particle 
of inflamuiation in the b' dy', and the strong man w^•.s choked to d ath. Jnst 
before Irs death he got np and walked across the room, looked at his oxen and 
called them by name, went back and sat on the bed and said : " Eliza, I have 
brought yon four young saplings into these woods. Take c re of them." And 
then 1 e died, sitting np against the head of his bed Ti'at was the sort of 
stock that James A. Garfield comes from. But the Ballon stock was eqnal'y, 
if not more, heroic. 

1'he " four young saplings '" we'e Thomas, nine years old ; Mehitabel, seven : 
Mary, six, and James, e'ghteen months. To rear these and support them, as 
well as maintain herself, was now the pnrp( se of the widows The story of 
how it wa- done is one of self-denial, of plnck, of endurance, of patie ce. It 
is too long to be told heie. One incident must suffice. Abram Garfield had 
" got in " a good crop of wheat, all secured by fences except about a hundred 
rails. There were, in readiness for splitting into rails, great chestnut " cuts," 
and a fe^v days after the funeral Widow Garfield took her son Tliomas ont to 
the pile of " cuts," and with his help split the needed rails herself — the plucky 
little woman. 

In many ways the little household managed, not only to exist, but, as they 
thought, to live well. But this did not satisfy the w'idow Garfield, who wanted 
men-al a .d physical nurture for her children. When at last !i school-house Avas 
to be put np she tendered a little corner of her farm for a site, and so got what 
she desired within easy distance for young James, who, at the early age of 
three, went t > school in that little log hut, not because he was sent, but be- 
cause of his own longings. At the end of the first term he received a New 
Testament as a prize for being the best reader in Ids class of little boys. Lit- 
tle James went to school summers and winters, loving all his studies, and 
working hard. His prodigious memory developed early, ad he learned Web- 
ster's spelling-book almost by heart by the time he was eight years old. His 
old " English Reader " was so faithfully read and re-read that he was able in 
his mature years, to quote it, from memory, by the page. 

Even when he was old enough to go to work, his elder brother, in whom cir- 
cumstances had developed a fatherly care, insisted tliat he be kept at school. 
This was accordingly done, his mother, a noble, religious woman, carefully 
training and developing his religious faith and sensibilities. Belonging to that, 
sect known as ''Disciples,' ' or '•Campbellites, " a class of Christians who believed 
in a pure, nnadnUerated Christianity, she brought him up in that faith, and he 
has never left it. While in all ways she impressed religious truth on her chil- 
dren, keeping them from bad habits and bad thoughts, slie was not sanctimo- 
nious nor did she bring any of the forbidding aspects of religion into her house. 
She was an exquisite singer, and whenever the children were depressed or dull 



11 

she would sing and fill their hearts with vigor and cheer. The robust and 
cheerful morality which she posses^ed liad its wholesome effect on her family. 
In the meantime, James kept on going to school, studying and reading every 
book he could lay hands on. He and his cousin, Harriet Eoynton, read " Kob- 
insou Crusoe " over and over again. At twelve he had read and mastered Jo- 
sephus, and was wild over a story of tlie adventures of a man traveling down 
the Mississippi. Other books, good or bad, were devoured , but the one that had 
the most effect on his imagination was a romance entitled ''Jack Halyard." 
A desire was kindled within him to go to sea, and tliis passion held him en- 
thralled until its perfect work had been wrought. He read at niglit mostly, 
after his mother had retired, and with her permission. Arithmetics, gram- 
mars, and other school books were mastered by tlie time he was fourteen. Tlien 
he began to " work out " away from home, during -the summer, getting about 
nine dollars a month and board, all "nis earnings going into the common treasury 
at home. In the summer when he was sixteen he worked at haying, getting 
one dollar a day, which was the largest pay he ever got for his maniial labor. 
Then he took a contract with his uncle to chop one hundred cords four-foot . 
wood, at twenty cents a cord. He chopped two cords a day, so that he cleai-ed 
about fifty cents a day, as he was boarded. The point where he was chopping 
wood, near Newburgh, now a part of Cleveland, commanded a view of Lake 
Erie, the sight of whose blue waters awakened all the intense longing for the 
sea. He would gladly have stopped chopping wood, but he liad undertaken the 
job and stuck to It until it was finished. 

But as soon as it was done he went to Cleveland and Ijoarded a vessel to ob- 
tain employment as a "hand." His request was refused brutally by a drunken 
captain, w hile most of the sailors he saw were also drunk. This partly but not 
wholly disillusionized him. As he went away he happened to meet a cousin, 
whom he knew^ merely by sight and who was running a canal-boat. The cousin 
asked him if he did not want to drive horses for him. The offer was accepted, 
for it flashed on Garfield's quick mind that he could make tlie canal work a 
primary school, the lake the academy, and the ocean the college. So began his 
canal-boat experience, which has been sufficiently and in some cases extrava- 
gantly exploited. It came along natui-ally without accident or any merely wild 
notion of adventure, and James went through it rougli and tumble, like the 
brave and lusty youth he was, for three months, when he got paid ten dollars », 
month and board. On his first trip he fell overboard fourteen times, and eaell' 
time was saved from drowning. He had several fights, but always came-, off" 
victorious. The only time he was ever in the wrong, and his opponent /had ; 
sufficient cause to thrash him, he awed the men, by a resolute bearing;,. into-, 
venting his feelings in words. 

Years afterwvard, Garfield piloted up the Big Sandy river a boat sent for sup- 
plies, when no professional hand would undertake the perilous duty. He stood 
at the wheel forty out of forty-eight hours, and not only saved the boat from 
being wrecked, but saved his command, who, when he reached them, were eat- 
ing their last crackers. Then his wife, who, up to that time, had never seen' 
why Providence had put her James through the canal experience, said to him: 
" I see wliat your life on the canal meant, now." 

The manner in which young Garfield came to leave the canal shows on what 
little things great ones will hinge. One night he had the misfortune to fall 
overboard into the muddy water of the canal. He grasped the dangling end of 
a rope which hung over the stern ; hand over hand he sought to pull himself 
out of the water which was too deep for him; hand over hand it paid out, giv- 
ing him not the least help. His position became perilous. He became alarmed 
as he struggled seemingly more and more helplessly. Finally, the rope became 
fixed and lent itself to his aid, and he drew himself on board. Curious to know 
the cause of its mysterious conduct, he found, on examination, that it lay in a 
loose coil, and in running over the edge of the boat, in his grasp, it had been 
drawn into a crack with a sort of king-like knot at that point, which alone pre- 
vented its paying out its whole treacherous length. In his wet clothes, he sat 
down in the cold of the empty night to contemplate and construe the master. 
It seemed, then, to him that there was but one chance in a thousand tiuit a 
line thus running over the edge of the boat should run into a crack and knot 
itself, and that one chance had saved liim. Then he thouglit of his mother, 
whom he had left under the idea that he was going on the lake. He had not 



12 

written to her for three months, and he pondered over the pain and distress his 
misconduct had doubtless caused her; so he resolved to go home. The next 
day this resolution was almost repented of, and the desire to be a sailor was 
again uppermost in his mind; but the drenching and the malarial of the canal 
were too much for the health and will of the sixteen-year-old boy. Fever and 
ague seized him, and he was compelled to turn his steps homeward. As he 
drew near to the house, he heard his mother at prayer. With uncovered head he 
stood in the door way and listened. She was praying for the return of him, 
whom she believed absent, with all the love and fervor of a mother's heart. 
As she ceased, he softly raised the latch and entered. Her prayer was answered. 
Not until after that time did he know that his going away had quite crushed 
her. 

A long season of prostration followed; but, notwithstanding this, his 
passion for the sea survived, and he recurred frequently to his old plans. All 
this was agony to his mother. But she was wise, and merely said to him in a 
sweet, quiet way, "James, you are not fit to go back to the lake now; your 
health is too much broken. You will break right down again. Thomas 
and I have talked it over, and we have raised seventeen dollars, whicli will 
be pretty nearly enough to pay the necessary money expenses of your going over 
to Chester to school;" but, she adroitly added: "If you feel still determined to go 
on the lake, why go over there to school this year, and by that time I hope your 
health will be restored. Then, if you go to work in haying or carpentering — 
for James had already learned the latter in building a house for his mother — 
you will make enough to go in the fall term, and then I think you can 
teach district school, and, if you want to, can sail on the lake summers, and 
when the lake is frozen over you can teach school." Her astute words had 
their weight. The prospect of earning something came in on him like a pas- 
sion, for all his hard earnings had gone to pay doctor's bills, and he was penni- 
less. The mother conquered. He decided to go to Geauga Seminary, near 
Chester, and the cord which bound him to an ocean life began to break. 



CHAPTER II. 

HIS LIFE AT SEMINARY AND COLLEGE. 

It was in the spring of his eighteenth year, March, 1849, that James and his 
two cousins, well provisioned, went ten miles over to Chester to get all they could 
out of the Geauga Seminary, an institution founded and supported by Free- 
will Baptists. While a student in the Geauga Seminary in Chester he paid a 
carpenter $1.06 a week for board and washing, and this sum he earned by help- 
ing his host at odd jobs. Among others this incident is given : The carpenter 
was building a two-story house on the east side of the road a little way south 
of the seminary grounds, and James' first work was to get out siding at two 
cents a board. The first Saturday he planed fifty one boards and so earned $1.02, 
the most money he had ever got for a day's work. He began that fall the study 
of Greek. That term he paid his way, bought a few books and returned home 
witli .p in his pocket. At the college young Garfield was startled and delighted 
by finding a library of 150 volumes. But he made another discovery in tliat 
scho 1— one which proved to be the greatest discovery of his lifetime. He 
found there a modest, studious, somewhat reserved girl, of about his own age, 
named Lucretia Rudolph. He only met her, however, in recitations, and as he 
felt "green '" and awkward, and she was absorbed mostly in lier studies, the 
at^quaintance was, for some time, without opportunities or provocation for any- 
thing more. 

He then presented himself for examination, to get a certificate to teach 
school, which he readily obtained, and taught his first district school, begin- 
ning two weeks before he was eighteen. He received $12 a month and ''boarded 
aroimd." Tlie rough characters in this scliool who commenced to bully the 
master he quieted by whipping tlieir leader. During the winter he read Pol- 
lock's " Course of Time, " and was so impressed with it that he learned it nearly 
all by heart. It was during this winter, too, that he became influenced by a plain 



10 
O 

old preacher of the "Disciples," who touched his sympathies and moved his 
heart. He made a profession of religion, was baptized in the faith of his mother 
and joined the cliurch. This severed the last strand of the cord which bound 
him to the ocean. To use iiis own language, " Of course, that settled canal and 
lake and sea and everything." Yet it was only a few years since that he said, 
half regretfully, "But even now, at times, the old feeling (tlie longing for the 
sea) comes back;" and walking across the room, he turned with a flashing eye, 
" I tell you, I would rather now command a fleet in a great naval battle than 
do anything else on this earth. The siglit of a ship often fills me with a strange 
fascination ; and when upon the water and my fellow-landsmen are in tlie agonies 
of sea-sickness, I am as tranquil as when walking the land in the serenest 
weather." But the sea had lost her lover. 

A new life, with new thoughts and ambitions, now dawmed upon him. He 
resolved at once that he would have the best education that it was in tlie i)ower 
of work to give. With this liigh purpose he went back to Chester and begun 
his new life. He remained there during the spring and next fall, makng four 
terms at Chester, and tauglit again in the winter, getting $\Q a month. 

From Chester he went to Hiram College, or '•'Hiram Eclectic Institute," as 
it was then known. He went there because its associations were in every way 
agreeable. It was started mainly by the "Disciples," and it offered advantages 
which he could obtain nowhere else. He could there be both pupil and 
teacher. An atmosphere of wholesome, cheerful, religious enthusiasm and 
of pure domestic life pervade 1 the place. Tliere, too, he came to know thor- 
oughly the hard-working and proficient student who w^as to be his wife. When 
he entered Hiram he knew Latin grammar, but had not translated; he had 
been through algebra, natural philosophy and botany, and had also pursued 
other studies, including a term in Greek. In regard to the first-named study 
he had his option between entering a primary class and going over the work 
he had already done, or going into an advanced class, which would compel him 
at once to begin the translation of Caesar's "Gaul."' Quite naturally he chose 
the more diflicult task. The first lesson was only six lines, and though it took 
him the whole night to work out the translation, he stuck to it until it was 
satisfactorily accomplished. It was at this college, too, that Garfield met a 
teacher named Miss Almeda A. Booth, a woman who was to the "Western 
Reserve" what Margaret Fuller was to New England. To her influence, which 
developed all his energies and ambitions, which quickened his thirst for knowl- 
edge, and which made his life noble in every way, Garfield was indebted beyond 
powers of expression. 

It was under the peculiar circumstances existing .it Hiram that Garfield be- 
came what is called a "preacher." Both students and teachers were nearly 
all " Disciples," and they held social meetings, calling upon those who were 
church members to speak an i pray. Garfield, by his natural talents, soon took 
the lead, and was always expected to say something. He developed such power, 
in fact, that often when the preacher did not feel like speaking, he wo Id call 
on " Brother Garfield." This, a nong the "Disciples " was entirely natural. 
It d d not signify or imply any intention to recognize him even as an incipient 
" preacher " in the common ecclesiastical sense. 

The work done by Garfield at Hiram, before going to college, was tremen- 
dous. He began at Hira n, in the fall of 1851, with but twenty-four weeks of 
La in and twelve weeks of Greek. He taught for t^N o winters in the district 
school. After the first term he taught constantly from three to six, and later, 
the whole six classes, so that he could onl- study nights and mornings. In 
June, 1854— less than three years after he went to Hiram— he not only had fit- 
ted himself to enter college, but had completed two years of the college course, 
so as to be admitted in the junior class in vvilliams, in full and good standing. 
He not only paid his way »» he went, and supported himself, but had "saved 
up " about ^50. For such an achievement there is no precedent. 

Having exhausted Hiram, tlie young student needed more. He w^rote to 
Brown University, Yal •, Williams, and Mr. Campbell's young college, at 
Bethany, gave a modest account of his acquisit ons, and wished t > know what 
time it would require in their classes to complete the university course. They 
severallv answered two years. He ' urned from Bethany because its course of 
study was not as extensive or thorough as in Eastern colleges ; because it 
leaned toward slavery, and because he wished to get among people who were 



14 

not "Disciples," in order to know sonietliing more of the religions views and 
sentiments of otlier ]ieople. The answers from the colleges were brief busi- 
ness notes, bnt Preside t Hopkins, of Williams, concluded with tliese words : 
" If y u come here, we shall be glad to do what we can for you." This sen- 
tence se-med to Garfield like a friendly grasp o" the hand, and settled the 
question with him. Through the discovery of life insurance he laised the 
necessary means on a policy he secured ou hi- own life, which was a good risk, 
and the summer of 1S54, in liis twenty-third year, saw him in the junior class 
of Williams. 

His college life was full of incidents showing the bent of l is character, but 
which for want of space cannot be given liere At that time he paid great at- 
tention to German, and devoted all- his leisure time to that language. In his 
studies his taste was rather for metaphysical and pliilosophical studies than f'>r 
liist ry and biography, but lie read besides a good deal of poetry and general 
literature. Tennysou was then and has ever been since one of his favorite 
authors, and whe i '-Hiawatha" was published he greatly admired it, and 
would quot almost pages of it when walkinr. lie was also greatly in^-'ested 
in Charles Kingsley's writings, particularly in " Alton Locke" and " Yeast." 
A friend gave iiim" " Oliver Twist " to read, and he reared with laughter over 
Mr. Bumble. 

At the end of two years he received the aw-ard for metaphysics, the best honor 
at Williams. He graduated high, witli great iJOi)ularity and with the lun-e- 
served confidence of President Mark Hopkins and all tlie faculty. He returned 
to Hiraui for the beginning of his life-work as a trained and cultured man, and 
accepted the position of professor of Latin and Greek. The institution was 
poor and his pay was small, but his activity burst out in all sorts of channels. 
He gave scientific lectures, learnijig his science as he went along. He infused 
new life into the institution, and the next year was honored by being elected 
president of the college. 

Perhai)S, after all. one of the chief reasons he had for returning to Hi'-am ' 
was the fact that Miss Lucretia Rudolph, to Avhom he had become engaged in 
1854, just as he was about to set out for Williams, resided there. The acquain- 
tance begun at Chester many years previous, when both were students at the 
Geauga Seminary, had ripened into congenial companionsliip in the studies and 
reading pursuedtogether at Hiram, where he found her living near tlie insti- 
tute. She became Garfield's pupil some time afterward, and recited to liim in 
Latin, Greek and geometry, as well as in some other branches of study. She 
was a remarkably fine scholar, with keen perceptions, quick intuitions, and 
high ambitions. She sympathized with all of Garfield's strenuous struggles for 
a college education. She was his complement and better self. Their union- 
was inevitable, but their engagement had this sensible understanding, that the 
marriage sliould not occur until lie was in such financial condition that he 
would run no risk. It was one of those deliberate purposes whose fulfillment 
the lovers put far enourh ahead to be prejiared for it. They were married on 
the 11 Ih of November, 1858, by the Rev. Dr. Hitchcock, president of the West- 
ern Reserve Collce at Hudson, and a happier marriage, in all respects, was 
never consummated, or one more calculated to keep the strong current of 
Garfield's forceful and active life pure, sweet, uncontaminated and within 
limits. 



C II A P T E R III. 

HIS MILITARY CAREER. 

During the two years previous to the war ISIr. Gariield was a State senator. Tu 
1857- '58 he became locally known and admired as a stump speaker of a radical 
type, iuid in IS59 lie was easily elected a State senator from the anti-slavery 
counties of Portage and Siiinmit. Senator (larfield at once took high rank in 
the legislature as a man well informed on the subjects of legislation, and effec- 
tive and i)o\verf 1 in debate. He seemed always prepared to speak ; he always 
spoke fiuently and to the point, aud his genial, warm-hearted nature served to 



15 

increase the kindness with which both political friends and opponents regarded 
him. Three '' Western Reserve " senators formed the radical triumvirate in that 
able and patriotic legislature which was to place Ohio in line for the war. One 
was a highly-rated professor of Oberlin College ; another, a lawyer alrea'ly noted 
for foi-ce and learning, the sou-inlaw of the i)resident of Oberlin ; the third was 
Garfield, the village carpenter and village teacher from Hiram. He was the 
youngest < f the tliree, but speedily bec.ime the first. In those days debates 
were frequent and party spirit i-an high, nearly every question turning on the 
great national issues so soon to be forced into the bloody field of actual physi- 
cal contest. 

In the autumr. of 1859 he entered his name as student of law in the office of 
Messrs. Williamson & Riddle, of Cleveland, showing that he intended, doubt- 
less, to enter upon the prac ice of law. He did, indeed, study for two years, 
and was admitted to the bar. But the war came on and Garfield felt that he 
ought to be in it, and, although his K'ilitary record covers only a little over 
two years, if is full of peculiar incidents and achievements. He was first 
commissioned in 1861, as lieutenant-colonel of tlie Forty-second Ohio Volun- 
teers, and soon was promoted to be colonel. His regiment was then at Camp 
Chase, from which place it was moved to the front on the 17th of December, 
1861, in obedience to an order from General Buell. When he reported to the 
latter at Louisville, Buell saw immediately that he had a man of no ordinary 
abilities. At once lie gave him a task that would have been formidable, even 
to the most experienced officer. Humphrey Marshall was moving down the 
valley of the Big Sandy, threatening Eastern Kentucky. Zollicoffer was on 
the way from Cumberland Gap tov.-ard Mill Spring. In concise words, as if to 
one skilled in military technics, tiie General, with a map before him, pointed 
out the position and strength of Marshall, the locations of the Union forces, 
the topography of the country, and lifting his cold eyes to the face of the silent 
listener said : '•'■ If you were in command of tliis sub-district what would you 
do ? Report your answer here at 9 o'clock to morrow morning. " Tiie Colonel, 
with a silent bow, departed. Daylight the next morning found him with a 
sketch of the proposed campaign still incomplete. At 9, sharp, he laid it before 
his commander. The skilled eye mastered it in a minute. He issued to its 
author an order, creating the Eighteenth brigade of the Army of the Cumber- 
land, and assigned Colonel Garfield to the command. After directing the pro- 
cess of embodying the troops, came this brief sentence : '■ Then proceed, with 
the least possible delay, and move witli the force in that vicinity up that river, 
and drive the enemy back or cut him off." To carry out this order and defeat 
Marsliall, Garfield had only four regiments of infantry and 600 cavalry— in all 
about 2,.">00 men— divided by large stretclies of mountain country that was 
harried by gueriillas and full of disloyal people. He had to send communica- 
tions to his scattered forces, to insure a co-operative movement, and then run 
the ribk of being defeated in detail before his troops could be massed; and, 
after all that was safely accomplished, he had to attack twice his owai force, 
strongly intrenched in commanding positions. Besides this, the roads were 
horrible, the time midnight, and the rain incessant. 

Yet all these obstacles he surmounted by his judgment, foresight, and deci- 
sive action. Before nightfall of the 9th of January, 1862, he had, at the head 
of 1,500 men, driven in the enemy's pickets between Abbott's and Middle 
creeks. He dispatched orders to his reserves at Paintville, twenty miles away, 
less than one tliousand strong, and bivouacked in the pitiless rain, to await 
morning and the struggle. He spent the night getting full knowledge of Mar- 
shall's position and of the topograi)hy, and again sent his faithful scout, John 
Jordan, into the enemy's camp to learn his exact position. Breaking camp at 
4 A. M. he skirmished aggressively and successfully till noon, when he reached 
the main line, and then lercely charged 5.000 men, with twelve pieces of artil- 
lery,^ finely placed on a steep and rocky hill, with his 1,100 heroes, all animated 
by his own spirit, but unprovided with a single cannon. It was a desperate 
hand-to-hand fight for twelve hours, with charges and repul.'-ies, and fresh 
cliarges, till at sunset the 5,000 are about ready to swoop down on, envelop, and 
destroy the heroic 1,100, or what was left of them. It was a straining crisis 
for Garfield, who was praying for Cranor and Sheldon, as Wellington prayed 
for ''niglit or Blucher." At the sa^.e time a rebel major, from a high eleva- 
tion, saw the advancing blue coats, and turned rapidly and gave the word. lu 



16 

a moment Marshall's demoralized force was whirling away in full retreat, and 
Garfield was the victor in the most important small engagement of the war. 
The brilliancy and importance of his operations were recognized by General 
Buell in a general order, while President Lincoln gave him a brigadier's com- 
mission. 

Having cleared ont Hnmphrey Marshall's forces, Garfield moved his com- 
mand to Piketon, 120 miles above the month of the Big Sandy, from which 
place he covered the whole region about with expeditions, breaking up rebel 
camps and perfecting his work. It was here that his supplies gave out, and he 
went to the Ohio river, got supplies, seized a steamer and brought it up the 
Big Sandy, notwithstanding an unprecedented freshet, to where his ti'oops 
were encamped, being at the wheel forty hours out of forty-eight. When he 
reached his men, spite of military rule, he barely escaped being carried to his 
headquarters on the shoulders of liis men. 

Then followed the famous expedition to Pound Gap, after Marshall, who had 
retreated tliere after being repulsed by General Garfield. It was a narrow pass 
in the Cumberland mountains, easily made impregnable, and a most admirable 
position trom which to swoop down with plundering parties into Kentucky. 
No direct attack could have dislodged the five hundred rebels left constantly 
on guard in the gap, defended by breastworks and quartered in log huts. So 
Garfield made a sudden, forced n)arch of two days, readied tlie foot of the g 'p 
at night, and the next morning made the rebels believe that he meant a direct 
attack, wliile he marched tlie most of liis command tlirough a narrow and tor- 
tuous mountain path, led by a faithful guide, in a blinding snow storm, and 
suddenly pounced down on the astonislied rebels in the rear of their fortifica- 
tions. The surprise and the victory were complete. The nest and stronghold 
of the plunderers were captured, a large number of them were killed, wounded, 
or taken prisonei'S, and Marshall's campaign was brouglit to a ridiculous close, 
whereupon Garfield marched back his command to Piketon, which he reached 
in four days from his departure, having taken his command about a hundred 
miles over a rough and ditflcult country. On his return, he was ordered to re- 
port to Buell in person. The latter was moving to join Grant at Savannah, 
but Garfield overtook the army, was assigned to the command of a brigade, and 
took part in the second day's fight at Shiloh. He was in all the operations in 
front of Corinth, rebuilt and guarded the bridges on the Memphis and Cliarles- 
town railroad, and did his share in erecting fortifications. He fell a victim to 
the malariousness of that region, and was prostrated during the months of 
July and August. When he became convalescent he was ordered to Washing- 
ton, where he participated in the Fitz-John Porter court-martial. On its ad- 
journment, in January, 1863, he was sent to Rosecrans. who at first was a 1 ttle 
prejudiced against him, but who soon found out his great capabilities and made 
him chief of stalf . 

His crowning service in this position came with the great battle of Chicka- 
mauga. Since he had been associated with Eosecrans he had been his coun- 
sellor, adviser, and executive officer, and grew daily in his confidence. The 
army lay at Murfreesboro'; Rosecrans delaying, by his passion for completing 
details, the action and advance whicli Secretary Stanton was urging and almost 
commanding. Finally, Eosecrans asked the formal opinion, in writing, of his 
corps, division, and cavalry generals as to tlie safety and advisability of an 
advance. All the seventeen replied in the negative. Against their united 
opinion Garfield wrote a paper, iu which he analyzed their objections and an- 
swered them in such a masterly manner that liosecraus could hesitate uo longer. 
This paper bore date June 12, and the army moved on the 2ith. On the morn- 
ing of the advance, General Crittenden said to Garfield, at headquarters: "• It 
is understood, sir, by tlie general officers of the army, that this movement is 
your work. I wish you to understand that it is a rash and fatal move, for 
which you will be held responsible.'" 

But Garfield never wavered, and the army marched on the short and brilliant 
Tullahoma campaign which relieved that region of Bragg and his troops. Then 
followed the fight for the objective point of the advance Chickamauga. The 
armies in array were seventy thousand Confederate and fifty-five thousand 
Union soldiers. Every order written on this field was written liy Garfield, save 
one which lie did not even see. This was Rosecrans' fatal order to Wood. 
Obeying this too literally, the latter broke the line of battle, and took his divis- 



17 

ion to the rear of another. Longstreet saw the blundering gap, and launched 
the impetuous Hood into it. The battle on the right was lost, Rosecrans and 
Ids chief of staff, with a mass of demoralized troops, being swept toward Chat- 
tanooga. Rosecrans thought that all was lost. Brave to desperation, so far as 
his own life was concerned, he was easily -'stampeded" wlien his command 
seemed broken. But Garfield's resources rose with the emergency. He seized 
the colors from the fleeiug bearer, who had instinctively borne them off. planted 
them, seized men to the right and left, faced them about and formed the nu- 
cleus of a stand, shouting his appeals in the dead ears of the unhearing men, 
bereft of all human attributes save fear. His exertions were in vain. The mo- 
ment he took his hands from a man he fled. Tiie fleeing tide swept on. Gar- 
field implored Rosecrans to let him seek the center and make it a rallying point 
from wliich to prevent utter route by well-directed fighting. He heard the 
steady thunder of Thomas' guns, and knew he was holding his own against the 
concentrated battalions of the enemy. Rosecrans gave the desired permission, 
and bidding Garfield God-speed, hastened back to the river to prepare for throw- 
ing up works at Chattanooga, behind which to save the sw^arming fugitives in 
front. Setting out with a few staff oflScers and orderlies, Garfield started to 
reach Thomas. His ride was a long and perilous one through the forests and 
over hills, no"- knowing where the rebel picket lines might be, an orderly 
wounded near him, and his own horse shot under him. with chaos in the rear 
and the unknown in front. His arrival at Tliomas' headquarters was like the 
reinforcement of a corps. He explained to Thomas the fate of the right, and 
informed him how he could withdraw his own right, form on a new line, and 
meet Longstreet who had turned Thomas' right, and was marching on his rear. 
The movement was promptly made; but the line was too short to reach ground 
that would have rendered it unassailable save in front. At that time Gordon 
Granger came up with steadman's division, met Longstreet at the opening 
thus left, and, after a fearful struggle, forced him back. Thomas, the army, 
and its honor, with the soil of the disaster on the right, were saved. It is said 
as night closed on that awful day, with the warm steam of blood from the 
ghastly wounded and recently killed rising from the burdened earth, Garfield 
and Granger, on foot, personally directed the loading and pointing of a bat- 
tery of Napoleons, and sent their shot crashing after the retreating foe, and 
thus closed the battle of Chickamauga. Nobly did Garfield win that day his 
commission as major-general. He won also, what he valued still more, the 
heart of old Pap Thomas. 

After the battle of Chickamauga, which was fought on September 20, 1863, 
Garfield was sent to Washington to reconcile tiie differences between Rosecrans 
and Stanton, and to state to Mr. Lincoln the condition and needs of the Army 
of the Cumberland, which he did with such clearness and vigor that Mr. Lin- 
coln told him he had never before understood so perfectly the actual situation 
of an army in the field. Mr. Montgomery Blair was filled with astonishment 
and admiration at the clearness, force, and completeness of this statement, 
and said shortly afterward to a personal friend, ''Garfield is a great man." 

The military career of General Garfield ended here. One year previous the 
people of his district had elected him to Congress, and he acquiesced in their 
wishes, to which determination he was aided by President Lincoln, who wanted 
the aid of his fresh, strong, and sagacious intellect in the House. In Decem- 
ber, 1863, lie therefore resigned his commission, though very reluctantly. As 
a matter of ambition the sacrifice was great, for he seemed to break a high, 
brilliant, and possibly great career in arms, where, in his judgment, he could 
be more usefid. Rut he resigned it all and stepped into new fields of activity. 
Ht^ seems scarcely ever to have controlled his own destiny. 

During all of his phenomenally active military career he had constantly kept 
up his literary culture. He took with him several small volumes of Harper s 
edition of the classics, and read them whenever he could steal a few moments 
of leisure. He read a little Latin every day. He rather settled down on Hor- 
ace as his favorite, regarding him as "the most philosophic of the pagans. 
He also kept up his interest in all home matters, wrote often to his wife and 
to his friend Hinsdale, and in all ways did what he could to nourish his affec- 
tions, to retain his culture, and to k ep up a realizing sense of his citizenship, 
in tue broadest and highest sense of that noble word. 



18 

CHAPTER IV. 
HIS CAREER IX CONGRESS. 

General Garfielrl entered the Tliirty-eightli Congress in 1863, having been 
elected without the slightest solicitation, effort or co-operation on his part, to 
represent the Nineteenth Ohio district. Even after he went into Congress, as 
the war was still doubtful, his inii)ulse was to resign and go back to the army. 
A private letter from his old friend. General Thomas, w'ho was now at the 
head of the whole Army of the Cumberland, tendering him the command of an 
army corps, made tlie impulse almost irresistible. ! 'e went to Pre ident Lin- 
coln to talk over the matter, but Mr. Lincoln earnestly dissuaded him from re- 
signing. " In the first place," said the President, '' the Republica > majority 
in Congress is very small, au'l tliere is great doubt whether or not we can carry 
our measures ; and in the next place, we are greatly lacking in men of military 
experience in tlie House to regulate the legislation about the army." 

So General Garfield went back to his seat in Congress and began a long ca- 
reer of honora,ble, industrious and patriotic service. 

It would take volumes to give any idea of wliat General Garfield accom- 
plished in his Congressional career. Take, for instance, a bare catalogue of 
his speeches or remarks from the index of the Congressional Globe for the flrs!; 
session of the Thirty-eighth Congress— 1^6:i to 1865— viz. : "Deficiency bill,'" 
'■'■ Bill to continue bounties," " Revenue ' ill," "Confiscation," "Conscription 
bill," "Bill to revive grade' of lieutenant-general," "Resolutions of tlianks 
to G neral Thomas," "Sale of surplus gold," "Relating to enlistments in the 
Southern States," "Bill to drop unemployed general othcers," "New Jersey 
railroad bill," "Currency bill," "The state of the Union, in re|>Iy to Mr. 
Long," " The expulsion of Mr. Long," "A correspondence with the rebels," 
" Revenue bill (No. 405)," " The inquiry in relation to the Treasury Depart- 
ment," " Ttie Army appropriation bill," "Pennsylvania war claims," "The 
bankrupt bill," " Repeal of fugitive slave law," " Bill to provide for claims for 
rebellion losses." 

In th'S Thirty-eighth Con^-ress General Schenck was placed at th*^ head of t^e 
Committee on Militarv Affairs, and Gener 1 Garfield received an honorable 
place with liim. Tlie militarv w^as of course the great, brilliant committee of 
the House and war. Proltably no t>^o men were ever better fitt d for their 
places than the chief of the military committee and he wlio at once became 
his 1 eutenant and friend. Garfield had been in Washi gton during the trial 
of General Porter. He now took up his solitary residence at the northeast 
corner of New York avenue and Thirteenth street. Her' i e remained till the 
holiday vacation, when, at the invitation of General Schenck, he joined him at 
Mrs. Lecont's house on C, near Four-and-a-half, a historic neighborhood of 
many memories. On one side of it was the house which long sheltered Pro- 
fessor Morse, on the other the old residence of Dr. Bailey, or the National Em; 
opposite were tiie residences of Daniel Webster and of I^ewis Cass. This place 
soon became a sort of army headquarters, where one might meet all the distin- 
guished and other generals when they happened to be at the capital ; as also the 
inventors of new^ arms and projectiles, run mad w'itli plans to end the war, en- 
thusiasts, visionaries, the unfortunate and unappreciated great men, with bum- 
mers and loafers on the outside. Here were drawn out, discussed and matured 
the great l)ills to be submitted to the committee and launched upon tlie House. 

Among his particular, noteworthy acts in this first Congress of Avhich lie was 
a member, was his solitary vote against the bill to increase the bounties to sol- 
diers, when everybody else voted tor it. One man only, (Jrinnell, of Iowa, 
moved by Garfield's courage, came over to his side and dared to do right. i)er- 
ha))S, at the cost of re-election. He upheld, too, the Wade-Davis review of the 
war policy of President Lincoln, and there was a strong feeling in his district 
against him. He walked boldly and ])roudly into the nominating convention at 
its request, and it was intimated to him by tlie rhairmaii that he could, if he 
wished to, explain away his adherence to tlie manifesto. Instead of that he 
gave them a twenty-minutes' speech, in which he upheld the manifesto and 
justified Wade. Then he walked out of the hall, his head thrown back and his 



19 

eye flashing. He had hardly reached the bottom of the stairs when a young 
man from Ashtabula, seeing; the silent dismay of the elders, sprang to his feet 
and exclaimed : ' 'A man with the courage to face the convention like that ought 
to be nominated. I move he be nominated by acclamation." Cheers and ap- 
plause followed. Garfield was nominated, and before he had walked a square 
away the delegates ran after him to inform him of what they had done. 

All through his Congressional life, Garfield was in favor of specie money, 
and his very earliest speeches on finance were against the "• inflation iniquity." 
"I, for one," said he in a si)eeeh, '■''am not willing that my name shall be 
linked to the fate of paper money. I believe that any party which commits 
itself to pai)er money will go down amid the general disaster, covered with 
the curses of a ruined people." And he spoi- e this, too, at a time Mdien it was 
not as easy to give expression to such sentiments as now. His political ruin 
was prophesied because he liad the courage to si)eak these convictions. But 
he held to them, and what he advocated has been accomplished. He was always 
deeply interested in finances, and made this feature of legislation a particular 
study. On the question of tlie tariff he was also plain-spoken. His platform 
was: "As an abstract theory, the doctrine of free trade seems to be universally 
true, but as a question of practicability under a Government like ours, the 
protective system seems to be indispensable. " In a speech after this he said : 
'•I am for a protection wnich leads to ultimate free trade, lam for that free trade 
which can only be achieved through a reasonable protection." In all the tariff 
discussions he was only criticised once, and that was about the wood-pulp mat- 
ter. His position on tliis question was first misstated, and from this an annoy- 
ing misapprehension arose. 

In the Fortieth Congress General Garfield voted first against the impeach- 
ment of President Johnson, but afterwards saw that there was no alternative 
but impeachment. In the succeeding Congress he played an important part, 
the Banking and Currency Committee, of which he was chairman, investigat- 
ing the Black Friday panic of v\ all street. His report was a model, and showed 
that an investigation in his hands did not mean anything else. In the Forty- 
fourth Congress he silenced the Amnesty bill in an answer to a sjieech by Ben. 
Hill, of Georgia, and made a reply to Representative Lamar which attracted 
crowds even from the Centennial, in which he claimed that the Democracy was 
not fit to be trusted. It was in this Congress, also, that he played an important 
part in the Electoral Commission. On the 25th of January, 1877, when the bill 
creating the commission was under discussion in the House, Mr. Garfield made 
a masterly speech in opposition to it, in which he took the ground that the 
Vice-President had the right under the Conxtituiion to count the vote ; that 
Congress would be committing a usurpation if it undertook to count it ; that 
Congress was only present as a witness of a great, solemn ceremony and not as 
an aclor. When the vote on the bill was taken, he voted against it, and yet 
he was placed on the commission. He delivered two opinions in t! e course' of 
the discussion. In one of tliese he presented, with his usual perspicuity, his 
view of the rights and duties of the States in the election of a President. The 
power to make the election was placed in the hands of the States, nor was there 
anywhere lodged a power to review and revise the^r doings in the premises. 
All that could be done was to ascertain their action in a given case and give it 
effect. They declared what they had done, by their own properly attested 
voices, and no power existed to go back of their declaration. This must be 
the law. In support he quoted the singular case of Vermont, when the legis- 
lature resolved itself into a joint convention, by virtue of the constitution 
alone, and proceeded to the necessary action. 

Many notable speeches were delivered by General Garfield during the Forty- 
fifth Congress. Among them one on " The Policy of Pacification and the 
Prosecutions in Louisiana,'' February 19, 1878 ; on the "Army and the Public 
Peace," May 21, 1878 ; his tariff speech in reply to Randolph Tucker on the 4th 
of .June following, referred to with his opinions on the subject, and many of 
lesser note. In the Forty-sixth Congress he spoke against tiie '' rider " to the 
Military Appropriation bill, against the presence of the army at the polls and 
opened a memorable debate with a powerful extempore speech. His last con- 
siderable address was one of his ablest, in support of the sentiment, "Obedi- 
ence to the Law the Foremost Duty of Congress." 



20 

Regarding committee work, he had his full share of labor. In the Thirty- 
eighth Congress he was on the Military Committee'; in the Thirty-ninth, at his 
own request, he was transferred to the Ways and Means Committee ; in the 
Fortieth Congress he was chairman of the Military Committee ; in the Forty- 
first, chairman of the Banking and Currency Committee ; member of the select 
committee on the ninth census, and the Committee on Rules ; in the Forty- 
second, chairman of the Committee on Appropriations and member of the 
Committee on Rules ; in the Forty-third, reappointed chairman of Appropria- 
tions Committee and continued on the Committee on Rules ; in the Forty- 
fourth, member of the Committee on Ways and Means ; in the Forty-fifth 
Congress, member of the Committee on Ways and Means and on Rules, and 
in the Forty- sixth Congress he occupied the same positions. During his longer 
Congressional career he was exposed to slander. The Credit Mobilier and sal- 
ary grab were the main scandals with which he was alleged to have been con- 
nected. 



CHAPTER V. 

DEFENDS HIMSELF IN THE CREDIT MOBILIER BUSINESS. 

In 1874 came a Democratic tidal wave, and thousands of Republican voters hes- 
itated in their support of a man who was suspected of complicity in the Credit 
Mobilier matter. Down to date Garfield's district had been very proud of iiim. 
No representative held his constituency with a firmer hand. His tenure promised 
to be as long as that of Whittlesey or Giddings. But now all was changed. A 
Republican convention tliat met in Warren for some local puipose demanded his 
resignation. Most men denounced, all i-egretted, none defended what had been 
done. All that the staunchest friends of General Garfield presumed to do was to 
say : "Wait until you hear the case; hear what Garfield has to say before you 
determine that he is a dishonest man." Garfield wrote from Washington to a 
friend : '"The district is lost, and as soon as I can close up my affairs I am coming 
home to capture it." 

And he did capture it. He issued his pamphlets— ''Review of the Transactions 
of the Credit Mobilier Company" and ''Increase of Salaries" — from Washington, 
and then came on to Hiram. These pamphlets, with a personal speech in Warren 
somewhat later, constituted his direct defence. When the next campaign opened 
he went, as usual, upon the stump. He rarely referred to the charges against 
him, and never did unless compelled to. He grappled with the questions of the 
day. He went fr(»m county to county, and the following was the popular verdict 
— Garfield, 12,591; Democrat, 6,245; Independent Republican, 3,427. In refer- 
ence to the Credit Mobilier General Garfield wrote on pages 23 and 24 of this 
pamphlet : 

"1 neither purchased nor agreed to purchase the Credit Mobilier stock which 
Mr. Ames oflTered to sell me, nor did I receive any dividend arising from it. This 
appears from my own testimony and from the first testimony given by Mr. Ames, 
which 1:5 not overthrown by bis subsequent statements, and it is strongly confirmed 
by the fact that in the case of each of those who did purchase the stock there was 
produced as evidence of the sale either a certificate of stock, receipt of payment, 
a check drawn on the name of payee or entries in Mr. Ames" dlaiy of a stock 
account marked, adjusted and closed, but that no one of these evidences exists in 
reference to me. This position is further ciinfirujed by the subsequent testimony 
of Mr. Ames, who, although he claims that I did receive $329 from liira on account 
of llie stock, yet repeatedly testifies that, beyond that amount, I never reciMved 
or demanded any dividends, that he did not otter me an^',- nor w<is the subject 
alluded to in conversation between us. 

" Mr. Ames admits, on page 40 of the testimony, that, after December, 18G7, the 
various stock and bond dividends on the slock lie had sold amounted to an aggre- 
gate of more than eight hundred per cent., and that between January, 1868, and 
May, 1871, all these dividends were paid to several of those who purchased the 



21 

stock. My conduct was wholly inconsistent with the supposition of such owner- 
ship ; for, during the year 1869, I was borrowing money to build a house in Wash- 
ington and was securing my creditors by giving mortgages on my property ; and 
all this time it is admitted that I re'ieived no dividends and claimed none. The 
attempt to prove a sale of the stocii to me is wholly inconclusive, for it rests, first, 
on a check payable to Mr. Ames himself, concerning which he several times says 
he does not know to whom it was paid, and, second, upon loose, undated entries 
in his diary, which neither pruve a sale of stock nor any payment on account of it. 
The only fact from which it is possible for Mr. Ames to have inferred an agree- 
ment to buy the stock was a loan to me of $300. But that loan was made months 
b^•fore the check of June 22, 1868, and was repaid in the winter of 1869 ; and, 
after that date, there were no transactions of any sort between us. And, finally, 
before the investigation was ended Mr. Ames admitted that, on the chief point of 
difference between us, he 'might be mistaken.' To sum up in a word : Out of 
an unimportant business transaction, the loan of a trifling sum of money, as a mat- 
ter of personal accommodation, and out of an otter never accepted, has risen the 
enormous fabric of accusation and suspicion. If there be a citizen of the United 
States who is willing to believe that, for $ 329, 1 have bartered away my good name, 
and to falsehood have added peijiiry,« these pagps are not addressed to him. 

"If there be one who thinks that mv public life has been gauged on so low a 
level as these charges would place it, I do not address him. 

"■ I address those who are willing to believe that it is possible for a man to serve 
the public without personal dishonor. I have endeavored in this review to point 
out the means by which the managers of a corporation, wearing the garb of honora- 
able industry, have robbed and defrauded a great national enterprise, and attempt- 
ed, by cunning and deception, for selfish ends, to enlist in its interest those who 
would have been the first to crush the attempt had their objects been known. 

" If any of the scheming corporatiojis or corrupt rings that have done so much 
to disgrace the country by their attempts to control its legislation have found in 
me a conspicuous supporter or ally in any dishonorable scheme, they are at full 
liberty to disclose it. 

" In the discussion of the many grave and difficult questions of public policy 
which have occupied the thoughts of ihe nation daring the last twelve years I have 
borne some part, and I coutidently appeal to the public records for a vindi- 
cation of my conduct." 



THE SALARY GRAB. 

In reference to the salary grab bill the Greneral wrote : — 

" As chairman of the Comraitttee on Appropriations it was ray duty to see that 
the annual appropriation bills were acted upon in the House before tiie Forty-sec- 
ond Congress expired. To do this it was necesssary to press them constantly, 
and to the exclusion of a great mass of other business. For this purpose chiefly 
the House was in session from ten to fifteen hours in each twenty-four during 
the last week of the term. 

" I had special charge of the Legislative Appropriation bill, upon the prepara- 
tion of which my committee hrid spent nearly two weeks of labor before the 
meeting of Congress. It was the most important of the twelve annual bills. Its 
provisions readied every part of the machinery of the Government in all the 
States and Territories of the Union. The amount appropriated by it was one- 
sevenih of the total annual expenditures of tha Government, exclusive of the 
interest on the public debt. It contained all the appropriations required by law 
for the legislative conference committee. The Speaker of the House and 
the President of the Senate both recognize the fact in appointing their respective 
committees of conference. In announcing the committees of conference on the 
part of the House the Speaker said : 

" 'There are several points of difference between the two houses of exceeding 
importance. It is the duty of the Ctiair to adjast the conference so as to represent 
those points upon which the House most earnestly insists. The three points of 
difference especially involved are the subject of salaries of members and other offi- 
cers, what is styled the Morrill amendment, and the provision in regard to the 



22 

P ic'fic rvir iad. The Chair thi!ik«5 that, so far as he can analyze the votes of the 
House oil these proposiriot s the foUowiiio: conferrees will fairly represent the views 
of tiie Hi>u-e on Mie various qu'stions : Mr. Garfield, of Ohio; Mr. Butler, of Mas- 
sachusetts. an<l Mr. R^ncUll, of Pennsylvania.' 

'• I was appointed cliairman btcause I had charge of the bill. Messrs. Butler and 
RandtiU were appointed because they represented the declared will of the House 
on the salary question. They were not members of the Committee on Appropri- 
ations "and were not familiar with the other provisions of the bill. The salary 
clau-e.'was the tirst of the sixry-five amendments referred to the committee, and 
six full hours were spent in considering it. Notwithstanding the fact that the 
battle against the salary clause was already lost I made the best effort I could to 
retrieve it in the conference committee. I faithfully presented the considerations 
uro-ed against it by tlse minority in the House, and moved to strike out the clause 
relatin Ao Congressional salaries. The Senate conferrees were unanimous a^rainst 
the motion, and my two associates agreed withjhem. I moved to strike out the 
retroactive feature' and the vote stood as btfore. By the same majority the amount 
was fixed ar, S7 500. There was no longer any doubt that tlie salary clause must 
stand or fall uith the bill. It was clear that a majority of the committee repre- 
sented the indgment of the two houses. 

"In this situation there were but two courses before me— one was to refuse to 
act wirh the conference committee, abandon the bill to Mr. Butler, the next on the 
confeience. and go into the House and oppose its final passage ; the other was to 
stand bv the bill, make it as perfect as possible, limii and reduce the amount of the 
appropriation as much as could ba done, and report it to the House foi passage. 

'^ In a word, I was called upon to decide this question: Is the salary amend- 
ment so impolitic, so unwise, so intolerable, that in order to prevent its becoming 
a law the whole bill ought to be defeated? If so, it was the duty of both the Sen- 
ate and the Hr)use to defeat it ; and, if they passed it, it wa-^ the duty of the Presi- 
dent to veto it. Upon the decision I then made, and the rea-^ons for and against 
it, I invoke the judgment of ray constituents; for there, if anywhere iu the course 
of the legislation, I forfeited my claim to their confidence." 

Again, however, victory oerched upon his banner, and Garfield was retufned, as 
the foregoing figures testify. 

As it was in the district, so it was in the State. In a sense, in 1873, he had come 
to be the representative of Ohio, He passed through a State as well as a district 
ordeal and came out approved. What then was more natural than that when the 
last election gave tlie Ohio legislature to the Republicans, and the party looked 
around for a successor to Allen G. Thurman, on the 4th of Mirch next, Mr. Gar- 
fiiild should be the man? He had received the complimentary vote cf the Republi- 
can members in the caucus two years before— 1878— and after a protracted and 
bitter contest in that caucus his name was withdrawn, and it was resolved to cast 
only blank votes in the two houses. This time ex-Senator Stanley Matthews, 
ex-Attorney General Alphonso Taft, and ex Governor William Denison had also 
enrered into a canvass for that place, but by the time the caucus met the sentiment 
of the State was so earnest and enthusiastic in favor of Garfield that his three com- 
petitors withdrew without waiting for a ballot, and he was nominated unanimously 
by a rising vote— an honor never accorded to any other man of any party in the 
State of Ohio. He was elected by a majority of twenty-two in the Assembly and 
a majority of seven in the Senate. 

In a letter to a friend he referred to this promotion in the following words, 
which seemed almost a presentiment : " On many accounts my transfer to the 
Senate brings s id recollections. Do you remember the boy 'Joe ' in one of Dick- 
ens' novels'who said that everybody was always telling him to 'move on,' that,, 
whenever he stopped to look in at a window too long for gingerbread or catch a 
glimpse of the pictures, the voice of the inexorable policeman made him 'move on?' 
I have felt something of this in the order that sends me away from the House. It 
is a final departure." 

General Garfield was elected nine consecutive times to the House of Represent- 
atives from the Nineteenth Congressional District of Oliio. His eighteen years 
were an extraordinary term of ofllce. Even the ablest men generally retire from 
the House after two or three terms. At each election he received a decided ma- 
jority. His average vote was 16,935. 



23 



The following is the vote cast for Representatives in the Nineteenth Congressional 
District of Ohio Jrom 1862 to 1878, inclusive : 




1832 Garfield 

1S64 ! Garfield 

186() I Garfield 

1868 I Garfipl.i 

1870 1 Garfiv^ld. 

1872 1 Garfield. 

1874 .'...I Garfield. 



1876. 
1878. 



Garfield 



13 288 
18 086 
18.362 
20.187 
13,538 
19,189 

12,591 

20,012 



Garfield i 17,166 | 



Woods 

Moses 

Coolman 

McE^van 

Howard 

Sutcliff" 

Woods 

Hiirlburt. 

Casement 

Hubbard I 

Tuttle I 



6.763 
6,315 
7,376 
9 759 
7,262 
8,254 
6.247 
3.427 
11.340 
7.553 
3,144 



CHAPTER VI 



AN ORATOR. 



A review of General Garfield's career would be incomplete, if it did not mention 
him as an orator. On the stump and in the balls of Congress he was one of the 
most powerful orators tliis country ever produced, always carrying conviction to 
the minds and hearts of those whom he addressed. Hii popular addresses are no 
less able and eloquent. 

More than forty of his Congressional speeches have appeared in pamphlet form. 
The following are some of their titles: '"Free Commerce between the Spates ;" 
"National Bureau of Education;" "The Public Debt and Specie Payments ;" 
" Taxation of United States Bonds ;" " Ninth Census ;" " Public Expenditures 
and Civil Service ;" "Tiie Tariff";" " Currency and the Banks ;" " Debate on the 
Currency B 11 ;" "On the McGarrahan Claim;" "The Right to Originate Reve- 
nue Bills;" "Public Expenditures;" " National Aid to Education;" "The 
Currency;" Revtnues and Expenditures;" "Currency and the Public Faith;" 
"Appropriations;" "Counting the Electoral Vote ;" "Repeal of the Resumption 
Law;" " Tiie New Scheme of American Finance ;" "The Tariff;" "Suspension 
and Rnsumption of Specie Payments ;" " Relation of the National Government to 
Science;" "Sugar Tariff." This may be a tedious recital, but tell us what 
American statesman can show a better list of titles? Does it not read like the 
table of contents to the speeches of Daniel Webster? The captions of these 
speeches disclose the field ol his most valuable public labors since 1866 ; the 
speeches themselves show the ability, the knowledge, and the high purpose that 
he brought to its cultivation. 

A few extracts from his Congressional speech, together with an address deliv- 
ered before the students of the Spencerian Business College, Washington, D, C, 
June 29, 1869, are given in this chapter. An incident evidencing his ready and 
majestic eloquence is also given. 

When the streets of New York were filled with excited crowds of people, and a 
terrible storm of indignation was brewing, after the assassination of President Lin- 
coln, General Garfield quieted the tumult with a bit of thrilling, magical eloquence 
that seemed like inspiration. His verv bearing commanded attention. He said : 

"Fellow Citizens : — Cloud and darkness are around about Him ! His pavilion 
is dark waters and tliick clouds of the skies! Justice and judgment are the estab- 
lishment of His throne! Mercy and Truth shall go before His face! Fellow-citi- 
zens, God reigns and the Government at Washington still lives 1" 



24 

FmANCE—" DIVORCE OF BANK AXD STATE."— NO GOVERNMENT 

BANK. 

" Tt is the experience of all nations, and it is the almost unanimous opinion of 
all eminent statesmen and financial writers, that no nation can safely undertake 
to supply its people with a paper currency issued directly by the government. 
And to apply that principle to our own country, let me ask if gentlemen think it 
safe to subject any political party who may be in power in this Government to the 
great tempfation of over-issues of paper money in lieu of taxation? In times of 
high political excitement, and on the eve of a general election, when there might 
be a deficiency in the revenues of the cnunlry, and Congress should find it neces- 
sary to levy additional taxes, the temptation would be overwhelming to supply 
the deficit by an increased issue of paper money. Thus the whole business of the 
country, the value of all contracts, the prices of all commodities, the wages of 
labor, would depend upon a vote in Congress. For one, I dare nottru>Jt the great 
industrial interests of this country to such uncertain and hazardous chances. 

"■ But even if Congress and the Administration should be always superior to 
such political temptations, still I affirm, in the second place, that no human legis- 
lature is wise enough to determine how much currency the wants of this country 
require. Test it in this House to-day. Let every member mark down the amount 
which he believes the business of the country nquires, and who does not know 
that the amounts will vary by luindreds of millions? 

*•' But a third object'on. strongereven than the last, is this : that such a currency 
possesses no power of adapting itself to the business of the country. Suppose the 
total issues should be five hundred millions, or seven hundred millions, or any 
amount you please ; it might be abundant for spring and summer, and yet when 
the great body of agricultural products were moving off" to market in the fall, 
that amonnt might be totally insufficient. Fix any volume you please, and if it be 
just sufficient at one period it may be redundant at another, or insufficient at 
another. No currency can meet the wants of this country unless it is founded 
directly upon the demands of business, and not upon the caprice, the ignorance, 
the political selfishness of the party in pnwer. 

" What regulates now the loans and discounts and credits of our national banks? 
The business of the country. The amount increases or decreases, or remains sta- 
tionary, as business is fluctuating or steady. Tiiis is a natural form of exchange, 
based upon the business of the country, and regulated by its changes. And when 
that happy day arriveswhcn the whole volume of our currency is redeemable in gold 
at the will of the holder, and recognized by all nations as equal to money, then 
the whole business of banking, the whole volume of currency, the whole amount 
of credits, whether in the form ©f checks, drafts, or bills, will be regulated by the 
same general law, the business of the country. The business of the country is 
like the level of the ocean, from which all measurements are made of heights and 
depths. Though tides and currents may for a time disturb, and tempests vex and 
toss its surface, still, through calm and storm the grand level rules all its waves 
and lays its measuring-lines on every shore. So the business of the country, 
which, in the aggregated demands of the people for exchange of values, marks 
the ebb and flow, the rise and fall of the currents of trade, forms the base line 
from which to measure all our financial legislation, and is the only saf»^ rule by 
which the volume of our currency can be determined." — Speech in the House of 
Representatives^ " Currency and the Banks. ''^ January 7, 1870. 

RESUMPTION. 

" If one thing was settled ahove all other questions of financial policy in the 
American mind at that time, [1880.] it was this, that tlie only sound, safe, trustworthy 
standard of value was coin of standard weight anil fineness, or a piper currency 
convertible into coin at the will of the holder. That was and had been fur several 
generations the almost unanimous opinion of the American people. 

+ * * * + ** * 

" War, the imperious necessities of war, led the men of 18G1 '62 to depart from 
the doctrines of tin ir fathers ; but they did not depart from it as a matter of choice, 
but compelled by overmastering necessity. Every man in tlie Senate and House of 



25 
• 
1862, who voted for the greenback law, announced that he did it with the greatest 
possible reluctance and with the gravest apprehension for the result. Every man 
who spoke on this subject, from Thaddeus Stevens to the humblest member of 
this House, and from Fessenden to the humblest Senator, warned his country 
against the dangers that might follow, and pledged his honor that, at the earliest 
possible moment, the country should be brought back to the old, safe, established 
doctrine of the fathers. 

" When they made the law creating the greenbacks, they incorporated into its 
essential provisions the most solemn pledge men could devise, that they would 
return to the doctrines of the fathers. The very law that created the greenback 
provided for its redemption and retirement ; and whenever the necessities of war 
required an additional issue, new guarantees and new limitations were put upon 
the new issues to insure their ultimate redemption. They were issued upon the 
fundamental condition that the number should be so limited forever that under 
the law of contracts the courts migat enforce their sanction. The men of 1862 
knew the dangers from sad experience in our history ; and, like Ulysses, lashed 
themselves to the mast of public credit when they embarked upon the stormy and 
boisterous sea of inflated paper money, that they might not be beguiled by the 
siren song that would be sung to them when they were afloat on the wild waves." 
— Speech in the House of Representatives^ '•''Repeal of the Resumption Law,'''' 
November IG, 1877. 

" Scarcely had the echoes of their cannon died away when they set abont the 
work of redeeming these pledges. In 1866, by the almost unanimous voice of 
both houses of Congress, the work was commenced for the redemption and can- 
cellation of these notes. The great revenues of the nation were applied to this 
pui-pose and to the reduction of the interest-bearing debt. 

" Hardly had the great cost of the war been stated when the nation was menaced 
with the formidable threat of repudiation. The worst elements of American pol- 
itics were appealed to, and the passions of selfishness and cupidity were summoned 
to the aid of those who joined in the assault on the public faith. 

"The autumn of 1867 and the spring of 1868 were days of darkness and gloom; 
but during the summer and fall of 1868 the Republican party appealed with con- 
fidence to the American conscience to put down repudiation in every form, to keep 
the public faith, and pay the sacred obligations of the war to tiie uttermost far- 
thing. 

" No issue was ever more sharply defined than that on which the presidential 
canvass of 1868 was made. That issue was declared in the national platform of 
the Republican party, and the victorious results were announced in the first message 
of Grant, wherein he stated that — 

" To protect the national honor every dollar of G-overnment indebtedness should be paid in 
gold unless otherwise expressly stipulated in the contract. Let it be understood that no repu- 
diator of one farthing of our public debt will be trusted in public places, and it will go far 
toward strengthening a credit which ought to be the best In the world. 

" This victory was sealed by the first act of Congress to which President Grant 
gave the approval of his signature. It was a victory won in the name of the pub- 
lic conscience, the public honor, the public faith — in the name of truth. From that 
moment the public credit was enhanced, month by month, and the national faith 
met no shock until the great struggle of 1870, when a most formidable attempt 
was made to break down the barriers of public confidence and launch the nation 
again upon a career of irredeemable paper-money expansion."— <Speec7i in House 
of Representatives, '•''Currency and the Public Faith,'''' April 8, 1874. 

RECONSTRUCTION-GOD VISIBLE IN RECONSTRUCTION. 

"I cannot forget that we have learned slowly. * * * i cannot forget that 
less than five years ago 1 received an order from my superior officer comnaanding 
me to search .my camp for a fugitive slave, and if found to deliver him up to a 
Kentucky captain who claimed him as his property ; and I had the honor to be 
perhaps the first oflficer in the army who peremptorily refused to obey such an 
order. We were then trying to save the Union without hurting slavery. * * * 



26 

It took us two years to reach a point where we were willing to do the most meager 
justice to the black man, and to recognize the truth that 

" A man's a man for a' that ! 

" Sir, the hand of God has been visible in this work, leading us by degrees out 
of the blindness of our prejudices to see that the fortunes of the Republic and the 
safety of the party of liberty are inseparably bound up with the rights of the black 
man. At last our party must see that if it would preserve its political life, or 
maintain the safety of the Republic, we must do justice to the humblest man in 
the nation, whether black or white. I thank God that to-day we have struck the 
rock ; we have planted our feet upon solid earth. Streams of light will gleam out 
from the luminous truth embodied in the legislation of this day. This is the ne 
plus ultra of reconstruction, and I hope we shall liave the courage to go before our 
people everywhere with ' This or nothing ' for our motto. 

" Now, sir, as a temporary measure, I give my support to this military bill 
properly restricted. It is severe. It was written with a steel pen made out of a 
bayonet; and bayonets have done us good service hitherto. All I ask is that Con- 
gress shall place civil governments before these people of the rebel States, and a 

cordon of bayonets behind them. 

*♦* * ****** 

" Now, what does this bill propose? It lays the hands of the nation upon the 
rebel State governments, and takes the breath of life out of them. It puts the 
bayonet at the breast of every rebel murderer in the South to bring him to jus- 
tice. It commands the army to protect the life and property of citizens whether 
black or white. It places in the hands of Congress absolutely and irrevocably the 
whole work of reconstruction. 

" With this thunderbolt in our hands shall we stagger like idiots under its 
weight ? Have we grasped a weapon which we have neither the courage nor the 
wisdom to wield?" — Speech in House of Representatives^ February 12, 1867. 

THE TEUTONIC TRAITS. 

" We are accustomed to say, and we have heard to-night, that he (Gustave 
Schleicher) was born on foreign soil. In one sense that is true ; and yet in a very 
proper historic sense he was born in our fatherland. One of the ablest of recent 
historians begins his opening volume with the declaration that England is not the 
fatherland of the English-speaking people, but the ancient home, the real father- 
land of our race, is the ancient forests of Germany. The same thought was sug- 
gested by Montesquieu long ago, when he declared in his Spirit of Laws that the 
British constitution came out of the woods of Germany. 

" To this day the Teutonic races maintain the same noble traits that Tacitus 
describes in his admirable history of the mannei's and character of the German. 
We may therefore say that the friend whose memory we have honored to-night is 
one of the elder brethren of our race. He came to America directly from ©ur 
fatherland, and not, like our own fathers, by the way of England. 

"We who were born and have passed all our lives in this wide New World can 
hardly appreciate the influence that surrounded his early life. Born on the bor- 
ders of that great forest of Germany, the Odenwald, filled as it was with the mem- 
ories and traditions of centuries, in which are mingled Scandinavian mythology, 
legends of the middle ages,romances of feudalism and chivalry, histories of barons, 
and kings, and the struggles of a brave people for a better civilization; reared under 
the institutions of a strong, semi-despotic governm.ent; devoting his early life to 
personal culture, entering at an early age the University of Giessen, venerable with 
its two and a lialf centuries of existence, with a library of four hundred thousand 
volumes at his hand, with a great museum of the curiosities and mysteries of na- 
ture to study, he fed his eagle spirit upon tlie rich culture which the Old World 
could give him, and at twenty-four years of age, in company with a band of thirty- 
seven young students like himself, cultivated, earnest, liberty-loving, almost to 
the verge of communism — and who of us would not be communists in a despot- 
ism ? — he came to this country, attracted by one of the most wild and romantic 
pictures of American history, the picture of Texas as it existed near forty years 
ago ; the country discovered by La Salle at the end of his long and perilous voy- 
age from Quebec to the northern lakes and from the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico ; 



27 

the country possessod alternately by the Spanish and the French and then by 
Mexico; the country made memorable by such names as Blair. Houston, Albert 
Sidney Johnston and Mirabeau Lamar, perhaps as adventurous and darins^ spirits 
as ever assembled on any spot of t!ie earth; a conntrv that achieved its freedom 
by heroism never surpassed, and whicli maintained its perilous independence for 
ten years in spite of border enemies and European intrio:ues, 

"It is said that a society was formed in Europe, embracing in its membership 
men of hi'h rank, even members of royal families, for the purpose of colonizing 
the new E*'public of the Lone Star and makino: it a dependency of Europe under 
their patroi!ap;e; but without sharins; \n their dej^iirns, some twenty thousand Ger- 
mans found their way to the new republic, and among these young Schieicher 
cume.^'— Remarks in House of Representatives, February 11, 1^1%^" on the Life 
and Character of Gustave Schleicher. 



ELEMENTS OF SUCCESS-ADDKESS DELIVERED IN SPENCERIAN 
BUSINESS COLLEGE, WASHINGTON, D. C, JUNE 29, 1869. 

Ladies and Gentlemen : I have consented to address yon this evening 
chiefly for two reasons : one of them personal to myself, the other public. The 
personal reason is that I have a deep and peculiar sympathy with young people 
who are engaged in any department of education. Their pursuits are to me 
not only matters of deep interest, but of profound mystery. It will not, per- 
haps, flatter you older people when I say that I have far less interest in you 
than in these young people. With us, the great questions of life are measur- 
ably settled. Our days go on, their shadows lengthening as we approach nearer 
to that evening which Avill soon deepen into the night of life ; but before these 
young people are the dawn, the sunrise, the coming noon— all the wonders and 
mysteries of life. For ourselves, much of all that belongs to the possibilities 
of life is ended, and the very angels look down upon us with less curiosity than 
upon these, whose lives are just opening. Pardon me, then, if I feel more in- 
terest in them than in you. 

I feel a profounder reverence for a boy than for a man. I never meet a rag- 
ged boy of the street without feeling that I may owe him a salute, for I know 
not what possibilities may be buttoned up under his shabby coat. When I 
meet you in the full flush of mature life, I see nearly all there is of you ; but 
among these boys are the great men of the future— the heroes of the next gen- 
eration, the philosophers, the statesmen, the philanthropists, the great re- 
formers and moulders of the next age. Tlierefore, I say, there is a peculiar 
charm to me in the exhibitions of young people engaged in the business of 
education. 

But there was a reason of public policy which brought me here to-night, and 
it Avas to testify to the importance of these business colleges, and to give two or 
three reasons w^hy they have been established in the United States. I wish 
every college president in the United States could heai' the first reason I pro- 
pose to give. lousiness colleges, my fellow-citizens, originated in this country 
as a protest against the insufficiency of our system of education— as a protest 
against the failure, the absolute failure, of our American schools and colleges 
to fit young men and women for the business of life. Take the great classes 
graduated from the leading colleges of the country during this and the next 
month, and how many, or, rather, how few, of their members are fitted to go 
into the practical business of life, and transact it like sensible men! These 
Business Colleges furnish their graduates with a better education for practical 
purposes than either Princeton, Harvard, or Yale. 

The people are making a grave charge against our system of higher educa- 
tion whan they complain that it is disconnected from the active business of 
life. It is a charge to which our colleges cannot plead guilty and live. They 
must rectify the fault, or miserably fail of their great purpose. There is 
scarcely a more pitiable sight than to see here and there learned men, so called, 
who have graduated iu our own and the universities of Europe with high 
honors— -men who knew the whole gamwt of classical learning— who have 



28 

sounded the depths of mathematical and speculative philosophy— and yet who 
could not harness a horse or make out a bill of sale if the world depended upon 
it. [Applause.] 

The fact is that our curriculum of college studies was uot based on modern 
ideas and has not grown up to our modern necessities. The prevailing system 
was establislied at a time when the learning of the world was in Latin and 
Greek; wlien, if a man would learn arithmetic, he must first learn Latiif; and 
if he would learn the history and geography of his country, he could acquire 
that knowledge only throiigh the Latin language. Of course, in those days it 
was necessary to lay the foundation of learning in a knowledge of the learned 
languages. The universities of Europe, from which our colleges were copied, 
were founded before the modern languages were born. The leading languages 
of Europe are scarcely six hundred years old. The reasons for a course of 
study then are not good now. The old necessities have passed away. We now 
have strong and noble living languages, rich in literature, replete with high 
and earnest tliought, the language of science, religion, and liberty, and yet we 
bid our children feed their spirits on the life of the dead ages, instead of the 
inspiring life and vigor of our own times. I do not object to classical learn- 
ing; far "from it; but I would not have it exclude the living present. There- 
fore, I welcome the business college in the form it has taken in the United 
States, because it meets an acknowledged want, by affording to young people 
of only common scliolastic attainments and even to the classes that graduate 
from Harvard and Yale, an opportunity to learn important and indispensable 
lessons before they go out into the business of life. 

The present Chancellor of the British Exchequer, the Eight Honorable Robert 
Lowe, one of the brightest minds in that kingdom, said in a recent address 
before the venerable university at Edinburgh : " I was, a few months ago, in 
Paris, and two graduates of Oxford went with me to get our dinner at a restaur- 
ant, and if the wiiite-aproned waiter had not been better educated than all 
three of us, we might have starved to death. We could not ask for our dinner 
in his language; but fortunately he could ask us in our own language what we 
wanted." There was one test of the insufficiency of modern education. [Ap- 
plause.] 

There is another reason why I am glad that these business colleges have 
been established in this country, and particularly in the city of "Washington. 
If there be any city on this continent where such institutions are needed more 
than in any other, it is here in this city, for the benefit of the employees of the 
United States. 

Allow me, young ladies and gentlemen, to turn aside for one moment to 
speak of what relates to your business life. If I could speak one sentence 
which could be echoed through every department of the Government, address- 
ing myself not to those in middle life whose plans for the future are fixed, but 
to those who are beginning life, I would say to every young man and woman 
in the civil service of the Government, ^'Hasten by the most rapid steps to get 
out of tliese departments into active, independent business life." [Ap- 
plause.] Do not misunderstand me. Your work is honorable— honorable to 
yourselves and necessary to the Government. I make no charge on that score; 
but to a young man, who has in himself the magnificent possibilities of life, it 
is not fitting that he should be permanently commanded; he should be a com- 
. mander. [Applause.] You must not continue to be the employed; you must 
be an employer. You must be promoted from the ranks to a command. There 
is something, young men, which you can command— go and fiiul it, and com- 
mand it. Yoii can at least command a horse and dray, can be generalissimo 
of them, and may carve out a fortune with them. And I did not fall on that 
illustration by accident, young gentlemen. Do you know the fact? If you do 
not let me tell it to you: That more fortunes have been won and fewer failures 
known in the dray l)usiness than in wholesale merchandising, [xipplause.] 

Do not, I beseech you, be content to enter upon any business which does not 
require and compel constant intellectual growth. Do not enter into any busi- 
ness which will leave you no farther advanced mentally than it found you ; 
which will require no more ability and culture at the end than it did at the be- 
ginning of twentv-five years. I ask you wliether your work in the departmev' 
IS not maiidy of " that kind, and whether it must not continue to be --^ 
kind. If you take advantage of our magnificent libraries here ; of the law col- 



29 

leges or the medical colleges ; if, whatever your plans may he, you complete 
and utilize your education by taking a course in the business college ; if you 
hold office in the departments for a few years to enable you to live while you 
obtain a legal, medical, or business education, you are doing a worthy work. 
It always pleases me to see young men obtain such places for such a purpose. 
But while it is commendable in a young man to secure such a place for sucli a 
reason, I would warn him not to continue in it, but to get out of it as soon as 
possible, and take a place of active personal responsibility in the great indus- 
trial family of tlie nation. 

There is another reason— the last I shall give in illustrating the importance 
of business colleges— and that is the consideration which was so beautifully 
and cogently urged a few moinents since by the young lady who delivered the 
valedictory of her class, that it is almost surplusage to add a word to her dis- 
cussion. The career opened in business colleges, espe(;ially in this, for young 
womea, is a most important and noteworthy feature of tliese institutions. 

Laugh at it as we may, put it aside as a jest if we will, keep it out of Con- 
gress or political campaigns, still, the woman question is rising in our liorizon 
larger than the size of a man's hand ; and some solution, ere long, that ques- 
tion must find. I have not yet committed my mind to any formula that em- 
braces the whole question. I halt on the threshold of so great a problem ; but 
there is one point on which I have reached a conclusion, and that is that this 
nation must open up new avenues of work and usefulness to the women of the 
country, so that everywhere they may have something to do. This is, just 
now, infinitely more valuable to them than the platform or the ballot-box. 
Whatever conclusion shall be reached on that subject by-and-by, at present the 
most valuable gift which can be bestowed on women is something to do, Mdiich 
they can do well and w^orthily, and thereby maintain themselves. Therefore I 
say that every thoughtful statesman will look with satisfaction upon such busi- 
ness colleges as are opening a career for our young women. On that score we 
have special reason to be thankful for the establishment of these institutions. 
[Applause.) 

Now, young gentlemen, let me, for a moment, address you touching your 
success in life ; and I hope the very brevity of my remarks will increase the 
chance of their making a lodgment in your minds. Let me beg you, in the 
outset of your career, to dismiss from your minds all idea of succeeding by 
luck. There is no more common thought among young people than that fool- 
ish one that by-and-by something will turn up by which they will suddenly 
achieve fame or fortune. No. young gentlemen ; things don't turn up in this 
world unless somebody turns them up. Inertia is one of the indispensable laws 
of matter, and things lie flat where they are until by some intelligent spirit 
(for nothing but spirit makes motion in this world) they are endowed with ac- 
tivity and life. Do not dream that some good luck is going t > Ixappen to you 
and give you fortune. Luck is an ignis fatuus. You may follow it to ruin, but 
not to success. The great Napoleon, who believed in his destiny, followed it 
until he saw his star go down in blackest night, when the Old Guard perished 
around him, and Waterloo was lost. A pound of pluck is worth a ton of luck. 

Young men talk of trusting to the spur of the occasion. That trust is vain. 
Occasions cannot make spurs, young gentlemen. If you expect to wear spurs, 
you must win them. If you wish to use them, you must buckle them to your 
own heels before you go into the fight. Any success you may achieve is not 
worth the having unless you fight for it. "Whatever you win in life you must 
conquer by your own efforts, and then it is yours— a part of yourself. [Ap- 
plause.] 

Again : in order to have any success in life, or any worthy success, you must 
resolve to carry into your work a fulness of knowledge — not merely a suffici- 
ency, but more than a sufficiency. In this respect, follow the rule of tlie ma- 
chinists. If they want a machine to do the work of six horses, they give it 
nine-liorse power, so that they may have a reserve of three. To carry on the 
business of life you must have surplus power. Be fit for more than the thing 
you are now doing. Let every one know that you have a reserve in yourself ; 
that you have more power than you are now using. If you are not too large 
for the place you occupy, you are too small for it. How full our country is of 
bright examples, not only of those who occupy some proud eminence in public 
life, but in every place you may find men going on with steady nerve, attract- 



30 

ing the attention of their fellow-citizens, and carving out for themselves 
names and fortunes from small and humble begiimings, and in the face of for- 
midable obstacles. Let me cite an example of a man T recently saw in the lit- 
tle village of Norwich, N. Y. If you wish to know his name, go into any 
hardware store and ask for the best "hammer in the world, and if the salesman 
be an intelligent man. he will bring you a hammer bearing the name of D. 
Maydole. Young gentleman, take that hummer in your hand, drive nails with 
it, and draw inspiration from it. 

Thirty years ago a boy was struggling through the snows of Chenango Valley, 
trying to hire himself to a blacksmith. He succeeded, and learned his trade; 
but he did more. He took it into his head that he could make a better ham- 
naer tha'i any other man had made. He devoted himself to the task for more 
than a quarter of a century. He studied the chemistry of metals, the strengtli 
of materials, the philosophy of form. He studied failures. Each broken ham- 
mer taught him a lesson. There was no i)art of the process that he did not 
master. He taxed his wit to invent machines to perfect and cheapen his pro- 
cesses. No improvement in working steel or iron escaped liis notice. What 
may not twenty-five years of effort accomplish when concentrated on a single 
object? He earned success; and now, when his name is stamped on a steel 
hammer, it is his note, his bond, his integrity embodied in steel. The spirit 
of the man is in each hammer, and the work, like the workman, is unrivaled. 
Mr. Maydole is now acknowledged to have made the best hammer in the world. 
Even the sons of Thor, across the sea, admit it. 

While I was there, looking through his shop, with all its admirable arrange- 
ment of tools and machinery, there came to him a large order from China, 
The merchants of the Celestial Kingdom had sent down to the little town, 
where the persistent blacksmith now lives in affluence, to get the best that 
Anglo-Saxon skill had accomplished in the hammer business. It is no small 
achievement to do one thing better than any other man in the world has 
done it. 

Let me call your attention to something nearer your own work in this col- 
lege. About forty years ago, a young lad who had come from the Catskill 
Mountains, where he had learned the rudiments of penmanship by scribbling 
on the sole leather of a good old Quaker shoemaker (for he was too poor to buy 
paper) till he could write better than his neighbors, commenced to teach in 
that part of Ohio which has been called " benighted Ashtabula" — (I suggest 
" bekniglited *' as the proper spelling of the word.) He set up a little writing 
school in a rude log cabin, and threw into the work the fervor of a poetic soul 
and a strength of heart and spirit that few men possess. He caught his ideals 
of beauty from the waves of the lake, and the curves they made upon the white 
sand beacli, and from the tracery of the spider's web. Studying the lines of 
beauty as drawn by the hand of nature, he Avrought out that system of pen- 
manship which is now the pride of our country and tiie model of our schools. 
It is the system you have been learning in this college, and which is so worthily 
represented by the son of its author, my friend. Professor Spencer, your able 
instructor. [Applause.] This is an example of Avhat a man may do by putting 
his whole lieart into the work he undertakes. 

Only yesterday, on my way here, I learned a fact which I will give you to 
show how, by attending to things, and putting your mind to the work, you may 
reach success. A few days ago, in the city of Boston, there was liekl an exhi- 
bition of photography, and to the great surprise of New England, it turned 
out that Mr. Eyder, a photograplier from Cleveland. Ohio, took the prize for 
the best photography in America. But how did this Ihiug liappen V I will tell 
you. This Cleveland photographer happened to read in a German j^aper of a 
process i)racticed by the artists of Bohemia, a process of touching up the nega- 
tive with the finest instruments, thus removing all chemical imperfections 
fi'om the negative itself. Reading this, he sent for one of these artists, and at 
length succeeded in bringing theart of Bohemia into the service of his own 
profession. 

The jnitient German sat down with his lenses, and bringing a strong, clear 
light upon tliese negatives, working with the finest instrumerits, rounding and 
strengthening the outlines, was able at last to print from the negative a pho- 
tograpli more perfect tlian any I have seen made witii the help of an India-ink 
finish. And so ]\Ir. Byder took the prize. Why not V It was no mystery ; it 



31 

was simply taking time by tlie forelock, securing the best aid in his business, 
and bringing to bear the force of an energetic mind to attain the best possible 
results. That is the only waj', young ladies and gentlemen, in Avhich success 
is gained. These men succeed because they deserve success. Their results 
are wrought out ; they do not come to hand already made. Poets may be born, 
but success is made. [Applause.] 

Young gentlemen, let not poverty stand as an obstacle in your way. Poverty 
is uncomfortable, as I can testify: but nine times out of ten the best thing 
that can happen to a young man is to be tossed overboard, and compelled to 
sink or swim for himself. In all my acquaintance, I have never known one to 
be drowned who was worth the saving. [Applause.] This would not be w^hoUy 
true in any country but one of political equality like ours. The editor of one 
of the leading magazines of England told me, not many months ago, a fact 
startling enough in itself, but of great significance to a poor man. He told me 
that he had never yet known, in all his experience, a single boy of the class of 
farm-laborers (not those who own farms, but mere farm-laborers) who had ever 
risen above his class. Boys from the manufacturing and commercial classes 
had risen frequently, but from the farm-labor class he had never known one. 

The reason is tliis: in the aristocracies of the Old World, wealth and society 
are built up like the strata of rock which compose the crust of the earth. If 
a boy be born in the lower stratum of life, it is almost impossible for him to 
rise through this hard crust into the higher ranks; but in this country it is not 
so. The strata of our society resemble rather the ocean, wliere every drop, 
even the lowest, is free to mingle with all others, and may sliine at last" on the 
crest of the highest w'ave. This is the glory of our country, young gentlemen, 
and you need not fear that there are any obstacles which will prove too great 
for any brave heart. You will recollect what Burns, who knew all meanings 
of poverty and struggle, has said in homely verse: 

"Though losses and crosses 
Be lessons right severe, 
There's wit there, you'll get there, 
You'll find no other where." 

One thought more and I will close. This is almost a sermon, but I cannot 
help it, for the occasion itself has given rise to the thoughts I am offering you. 
Let me suggest, that in giving you being, God locked up in your nature certain 
forces and capabilities. What w^ill you do with them? Look at the mechanism 
of a clock. Take off the pendulum and rachet and the wheels go rattling down, 
and all its force is expended in a moment; but properly balanced and regulated 
it will go on. letting out its force tick by tick, measuring hours and days, and 
doing faithfully the service for which it was designed . I implore you to cherish 
and guard and use well the forces that God has given to you. You may let 
them run down in a year, if you will. Take off the strong curb of discipline 
and morality, and you will be an old man before your twenties are passed. Pre- 
serve these forces. Do not burn them out watli brandy or waste them in idle- 
ness and crime. [Applause.] Do not destroy them. Do not use them unworthily. 
Save and protect them that they may save for you fortune and fame. Honestly 
resolve to do this, and you will be an honor to yourself and to your country. 
I thank you, young friends, for your kind attention. [Applause.] 



PART II 



FROM THE CHICAGO CONVENTION TO THE DAY OF 
THE ASSASSINATION. 



CHAPTER I. 

CHICAGO CONVENTIO>^. 

On the 2d of June, 1880, the Republican national convention met at Chicago. 
Hon. G. F. Hoar was elected chairman of the convention. General Garfield 
attended as a delegate, and when the time for nominating candidates arrived he 
made an able speech in behalf of John Sherman, of Ohio, whose name he pre- 
sented to the convention. The following is the speech of General Garfield in pre- 
senting the name of John Sherman : 

Mr. President : I have witnessed the extraordinary scenes of this conven- 
tion with deep solicitude. No emotion touches my heart more quickly than a sen- 
timent in honor of a great, noble character. But while I sat on these seats and 
witnessed these demonstrations it seemed to me you were a human ocean in a 
tempest. I have seen the sea lashed into fury and tossed into spray, and its 
grandeur move the soul of the dullest man. But I remember that it is not the 
billows, but the calm level of the sea, from wliich ail heights and depths are mea- 
sured. [Applause.] When the storm has passed and the hour of calm settles on 
the ocean, when the sunlight bathes its smooth surface, then the astronomer and 
surveyor takes the level from which he measures all terrestrial heights and depths. 
[Applause.] Gentlemen of the convention, your present temper may not mark 
the healthful pulse of our people. When our enthusiasm has passed, when the 
emotions of this hour have subsided, we shall find that calm level of public opin- 
ion below the storm from whicli the thoughts of a mighty people are to be meas- 
ured, and by which their final action will be determined. [Applause.] Not here 
in this brilliant circle, where 15,000 men and women are assembled, is the destiny 
of the Republican party to be decreed. [That is so.] Not here where I see the 
enthusiastic faces of seven hundred and fifty-six delegates waiting to cast tlieir 
votes into the urn and determine the choice of the Republic. [Applause.] But by 
four million Republican firesides, where the thoughtful voters, with their wives and 
children about them, with the calm thoughts inspired by love of home and love of 
country, with the history of the past, the hopes of the future and the knowledge 
of the great men who have adorned aiul blessed our nation in days gone by. 
There God prepares the verdict that shall determine the wisdom of our work 
to-night. [Applause.] And not in Chicago, in tlie heat of June, but in the sober 
quiet that comes to them between now and November. In the silence of deliber- 
ate judgment will this great question be settled. [Cries of "good."] Let us aid 
them to-night. [Great applause.] But now, gentlemen of the convention, what 
do we want? [A voice "Garfield," followed by applause.] Bear with me a 
moment. Hear me for this cause, and for a moment. Be silent, that you may 
hear. [Cries of "good."] Twenty-five years ago this Republic was wearing a 
triple cliain of bondage. Long familiarity with the traftic in the bodies and souls 
of men had paralyzed the consciences of a majority of our people. The baleful 
doctrine of State sovereignty had shackled and weakened the noblest and most 



33 

beneficent powers of the nation and the Government, and the grasping: power of 
slavery was seizing tlie virgin Territories of the West, and dragging them into the 
den of eternal bondage. At that crisis the Republican party was born; it drew 
its first inspiration f'roui that fire of liberty which God has lighted in every liuman 
breast, and which all the powers of ignorance and tyranny can never wliolly 
extinguish. [Applause.] The Republican party came to deliver and save the 
Republic. It entered.the arena when the beleaguered and assailed Territories were 
struggling for freedom and drew around them a circle of liberty which the demon 
of slavery has never dared to cross. It made them free forever. [Loud applause 
and cries of "good."] 

Strengthetied by its victory on the frontier, the young party, under the leader- 
ship of that great man, who, on this spot, twenty years ago, was made its leader, 
it entered the national capital and assumed the high duties of government. [Ap- 
plause.] The light which shown from its burners dispelled the darkness in which 
slavery had shrouded the capital, melted the shackles of every slave, and consumed 
in the fires of liberty every slave-pen within the shadow of the Capitol. Our great 
national industries by an unprotected policy were themselves prostrated and the 
stream of revenue flowed in such feeble currents that the Treasury itself was well- 
nigh empty. The money of the people was the wretched notes of two thousand 
irresponsible State banking corporations, which were libelling the country with a 
circulation that poisoned rather than sustained the life of business.* [Loud applause.] 
The Republican party changed all this. It abolished the babel of confusion and 
gave the country a currency as national as its flag, based upon the sacred faith of 
the people. [Applause.] it threw its protecting arm around our great industries 
and they stood erect as with new life. It filled with the spirit of true nationality 
all the great functions of the Government. It confronted a rebellion of unex- 
ampled magnitude, with slavery behind it, and under God fought the final battle 
of liberty until the battle was won. [Applause.] Then, after the stor.u of battle, 
we heard the sweet, calm words of psace, spoken by the conquering nation to the 
conquered foe that lay prostrate at its feet. " This is our only revenge, that you join 
us in lifting into the serene firmament of the Constitution to shine like stars forever 
and ever the immortal principles of truth and justice, that all men, white and black, 
shall be free and stand equal before the law." [Loud applause.] Then came the 
questions of reconstruction, the public debt and the public faith. In the settle- 
ment of- these questions the Republican party has completed its twenty-five years 
of glorious existence, and it has sent us here to prepare.for another lustrum of duty 
and victory. How shall we do this great work ? We cannot do it, my friends, by 
assailing our Republican brethren. [Great applause and cries of "good."] God 
forbid that I should sav one word to cast a shadow upon any name on the roll of 
our heroes. The coming figlit is our Thermopyhe, We are standing upon a nar- 
row isthmus. If our Spartan hosts are united we can withstand all the Greeks that 
the Xerxes of Democracy can bring against us. Let us hold our ground for this 
one year, for the stars in their course will fight for us in the future. The census 
to be taken this year will bring reinfoi cements and continue power. [Applause.] 

But in order to win this victory now, we want the vote of every Republican, of 
every Grant Republican and of every anti-Grant Republican in America, [great 
applause,] of every Blaine man and every anti-Rlaine man. The vote of every fol- 
lower of every candidate is needed to make our success certain. [Applause.] There- 
fore I say, gentlemen and brethren, we are here to take calm counsel togetlier and 
inquire what we shall do. [A voice, " nominate Garfield." Great applause.] We 
want a man whose life and opinions embody all the achievements of which I have 
spoken. We want a man who, standing on a mountain height, sees all the achieve- 
ments of our past history and carries in his heart the memory of all its glorious 
deeds, and who, looking forward, prepares to meet the labor and the dangers to 
come. We want one wlio will act in no spirit of unkindness toward those we 
lately met in battle. 

The Republican party ofl'ers to our brethren of the South the olive branch of 
peace and instills them to renewed brotherhood on this supreme condition, that 
it shall be admitted forever and forever more that in the war for the Union we 
were simply right and they were wrong. [Cheers.] On that supreme condition 
we meet them as brethren and on no other. We ask them to share with us the 
blessings and honors of this great Republic. [Applause.] 

Now, gentlemen, not to weary you, I am about to present a name for your con 
sideration — the name of a man who was a comrade and associate and friend o 



34 



nearly all those noble dead whose faces look down upon us to-night. [Referring to 
the patriots Giddings, Lincoln, Sumner, Wade, Chandler and other eminent Amer- 
icans hanging in the hall.] A man who began his career of public service twenty- 
five years ago, whose first duty was courageously done in the days of peril on the 
plains of Kansas. There the first red drops of that bloody shower began to fall 
which finally swelled into the deluge of war. [Cheers.] He bravely stood by young 
Kansas, and then returning to his scat in the national legislature, through all the 
subsequent years his pathway has been marked by labers performed in every de- 
partment of legislation. You ask for his monuments. I point you to twenty-five 
years of national statutes. [Cheers.] Not one great, beneficent'statute has been 
jplaced on our statute-books without his intelligent and powerful aid, [Cheers.] 
He aided these men to formulate the laws that raised our great armies and carried 
us through the war. His hand was seen in the workmanship of these statutes that 
restored and brought back the unity of the married calm of the States. His hand 
was in all that great legislation that created the war currency, and in the still greater 
work that redeemed the promises of the Government and made currency equal to 
gold and silver. At last he passed from the halls of legislation into a high execu- 
tive oQiee. He displa.yed that experience, intelligence, firmaess and purity of 
character which has carried us through a stormy pei-iod of three years, with one- 
half of the public press crying, crucify him, and a hostile Congress seeking to 
prevent success. In all this he remained unmoved until victory crowned him. [Ap- 
plause.] The great fiscal afi"airs of the nation and the business interests of the coun- 
try he has guarded and preserved while executing the laws of resumption, and eff'ect- 
ed its object without ajar, and against the false prophecies of one-half the press and 
all the Democracy of this continent [applause] he has shown himself able to 
meet with tlie calmness of Government. For twenty-five years he has trodden 
the perilous heights of public duty, and against all the shafts of malice his breast 
is unharmed. He has stood in rhe blaze of " that fierce light that beats against 
a throne." but its fiercest ray has found no fliw in his honor, no stain on his 
shield. I do not present him as a better Republican or better man than thou- 
sands of others wtiom we honor, but I present him for your deliberate considera- 
tion. I nominate John Sherman, of Ohio. [Applause, lasting several minutes.] 

Senator Roscoe Conkling, of New York, nominated ex-President Grant. Gov- 
ernor Joy. of Michigan, nominated James G. Blaine. Mr. J. B. Casidy, of Wis- 
consin, nominated Washburne. Mr. B. F. Drake, of Minnesota, nominated William 
• Windom. Mr. Billings, of Vermont, nominated George F. Edmunds. 

It was one of the most stormy Republican conventions ever held. Twenty- 
nine indecisive ballots were cast. There were some indications as the thirtieth 
ballot progressed that the lesser candidates were giving way. Great amusement 
was created toward the close by the announcement of one vote from Wyoming for 
General Phil Sheridan. Sheridan was on the stage near the chair, and when he 
was, a moment after, di.scovered by tlie people a sl'out went up from all over the 
house. He finally arose and said that he was very much obliged, but he couldn't 
take the nomination unless he were permitted to rurn it over to his best friend. 
The gtalleries saw the point of this, since Sheridan's best friend is Grant, and all 
the Grant delegates made the best of t!ie opportunity by an outburst of enthusiasm. 
The chair also detected the point, and said that while tlie distinguished soldier had 
been given permission to interrupt the order of tiie convention it would be granted 
to no one else. 

The next ballot demonstrated that the Grant lines could not be broken, and the 
Blaine lines were at this time wavering. Ic was apparent that the convention was 
on the edge of a break. The next ballot, which was finished by half-past twelve, 
was without exciting event. 
The following is a summary of the thirtieth ballot : 



Grant 306 

Sherman 120 

Windom 4 

Garfield 2 



Blaine 279 

Edmunds 11 

Washburne 33 

Sheridan 1 



THE THIRTY-FIRST BALLOT 

resulted the same as the thirtieth, except that in Alabama Grant lost one vote by 
the absence of a delegate ; in Indiana four votes from Blaine to Washburne, and 



35 



one vote from Sherman to Washburne ; in Pennsylvania one vote from Garfield to 
Grant • in Texas one vote from Sherman to Grant ; in New Mexico one vote from 
Blaine to Roscoe Conkling ; in Wyoming one vote from Sherman to Grant. 

Grant 308 , Blaine 276 

Sherman 118 Edmunds ii 

Windom 3 Washburne ^7 

Garfield". 1 Conkling 1 



THIRTY-SECOND BALLOT. 



Grant 309 

Sherman 117 

Windom 3 

Garfield 1 



Blaine •" 270 

Edmunds H 

Washburne 44 



THIRTY-THIRD BALLOT. 



Grant , 309 

Sherman 110 

Windom 4 

Garfield 1 



Blaine 276 

Edmunds H 

Washburne 44 



THIRTY-FOURTH BALLOT. 

This wa? the same as the thirty-third, except in Alabama Grant gained one vote 
by the return of a delegate in Indiana, and six votes from Washburne to Blame ; 
iri Tftcnessee one vote from Blaine to Grant; in Wisconsin the vote stood Grant, 
2 ; Blaine, 1 ; Washburne, 1 ; Garfield. 16. The announcement showing that Wis- 
consin was trying to make a break to Garfield was greeted with loud clapping of 
hands and cheers. The ballot resulted : 



Grant 312 

Sherman 107 

Windom 4 

Garfield 17 



Blaine 275 

Edmunds H 

Washburne 30 



The announcement was received with prolonged cheers. This was the first bal- 
lot on which the full nflmber of delegates had voted. In the midst of the confusion 
General Garfield arose to a question of order. 

The Chair.— The gentleman will state his point of order. 

General Garfield.— I challenge the correctness of the aiinouncement of the vote 
just read. No man has a right to have his name announced and voted for in this 
convention without his permission. Such permission I have not given and cannot 
give. [Sensation.] 

The Chair.— The gentleman from Ohio is not in order. 



THIRTY-FIFTH BALLOT. 

A poll was called for in Minnesota, and the vote stood two for Grant and eight 
for Garfield. Nevada was polled and the vote was for Garfield. New Hampshire 
and New Jersey voted solid without much attention, but when Major Butterworth, 
of Ohio, cast forty -three votes for Garfield, the wildest enthusiasm was manifested. 



Grant 313 

Sherman 99 

Windom 3 

Garfield 50 



Blaine 257 

Edmunds H 

Washburne 23 



36 

June 8th. — On the thirty-sixth ballot, when Tennessee voted, a poll of the State 
was demanded and resulted : Grant 19, Garfield 3, When West Virginia was 
reached A. W. Campbell said : " Mr. Chairman, West Virg:inia remembers her 
friends, and casts nine votes for Garfield." [Applause.] Then Wisconsin gave 
the votes necessary to nominate Garfield. But before the vote was read the audi- 
ence rose en masse and broke out into the wildest cheers. On previous occasions 
the cheers had been confined to a psrt of the audience and delegates, but this time 
there seemed to be no exception. The delegates seized the shields and waved them 
aloft. The band struck up "Hail Columbia," and the word having been announced 
to the vast crowd outside of the building the cheers inside were drowned by the 
shouts without. This enthusiasm was responded to by cannon on the lake. The 
scene presented by the galleries was certahily one of the most extraordinary ever 
presented on a similar occasion, tliere being enough ladies present to add beauty 
and animation. Garfield buried his head in his hands and absolutely shook with 
emotion. As the band struck up "Rally Round the Flag" the audience sung to 
the music with remarkable accuracy, and this was followed by three cheers and a 
tiger. Over half an hour was consumed in this way before the roll could be pro- 
ceeded with. The result of the ballot was finally as follows : 

Garfield 399 j Blaine 42 

Grant 306 Sherman 3 

Washburne 5 | 

Necessary to a choice, 378. 

[Tremendous cheers, and the band struck up "Hail Columbia."] Order being 
restored tiie Chair said : "James A. Garfield having received a majority of all votes 
cast is the nominee of the Republican party for President of the United States." 
[Cheers.] 

MAKING THE NOmNATION UNANIMOUS. 

The following is the speech of Mr. Conkling, in moving that the nomination be 
made unanimous : 

Mr. Conkling.— Mr. Chairman : James A. Garfield, of Ohio, having received a 
majority of the votes of this convention, I rise to move that he be unanimously 
presented as a nominee of this convention. And being on my feet I avail myself 
of this opportunity to congratulate the Republican party upon the good-natured 
and well-tempered manner which has distinguished this convention. Mr. Chair- 
man, I trust the zeal and the fervor and also the unanimity seen in this convention 
will be transferred to the field and the campaign, and that all of us who have taken 
a part against each other will bind ourselves with equal zeal bearing the flag, and 
with equal zeal carrying the banner of the Republican party into the ranks of the 
enemy. [Applause.] 

Senator Logan said he congratulated the convention upon the result of the con- 
vention. In union and harmony there is strength ; whatever difterences has pre- 
vailed heretofore, there should be harmony hereafter. The partisanship which has 
characterized the business should entirely pass from our minds. I have supported 
the grandest man that ever graced the face of the earth. I have fought and battled 
in favor of his nomination, but this convention has chosen another leadei-, a man 
who stood by General Grant in the war, and has stood by the grandest party that 
ever organized in this country. My judgment is that victory willperch upon our 
banner with him as our leader. [Applause.] 1, as one of the delegates from 
Illinois, second the nomination of James A. Garfield, of Ohio, and I hope the nom- 
ination maj^ be made unanimous. 

M.S. Quay, chairman of tlie Pennsylvania delegation, said: Mr. President, 
the State of Pennsylvania has had the honor of first naming in this conveution 
the gentleman who has been nominated as the standard-bearer of the Republican 
party in the approaching national contest. I arise to second the motion to make 
that nomination unanimous, assure this convention and the people of this country 
that Pennsylvania is heartily in accord with the nomination, and the country may 
except from Pennsylvania next November the best majority for the nominee that 
has been given in that State for many years. 



37 

Mr, Garey, of Maryland, moved to proceed to the nomination of Vice-President. 
Adopted, „ 

C, A, Arthur. B. K. Bruce, E, B. Washburne, M, Jewell, and Horace Maynard 
were nominated. Ballots were at once cast for an election, resulting as follows : 

Arthur 468 Jewell 44 

Bruce 8 Maynard... 30 

Washburne 193 i 

Whole number of votes cast, 751 ; necessary to a choice, 376, 

After the ballot was announced a motion was made to make the nomination 
unanimous, and carried without a dissenting vote. 

Mr, Bickham, of Ohio, offered the following, which was adopted : 

That this convention thanks its very able president and its accomplished secre- 
tary and courteous officers generally for the happy and satisfactory discharge of 
their onerous and responsible duties, and we also thank the citizens of Chicago for 
their courtesy and hospitality. 

Other resolutions of thanks were also adopted, and Mr, Conger offered a resolu- 
tion instructing the Chair to appoint a committee of one from each State to notify 
General Garfield of his nomination, 

A meeting of the national committee was announced after adjournment, after 
which the convention adjourned sine die. 

Thus the convention ended on June Sth, That evening near midnight the com- 
mittee appointed by Senator Hoar to wait on Garfield and Arthur to notify them 
of their nomination met them in the club room of the Grand Pacific, and Senator 
Hoar, as chairman, made an appropriate speech. 

General Garfield replied : , . -. 

Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen : I assure you that the information you have 
officially given to me brings the sense of very grave responsibility, and especially so 
in view of the fact that I was a member of your body— a fact that could not have 
existed with propriety had I the slightest expectation that my name would be con- 
nected with nomination for office. I have felt, with you, great solicitude concern- 
ing the situation of our party during the struggle, but believing that you are cor- 
rect in assuring me substantial unity has been reached in conclusion, it gives me 
gratification far greater than any personal pleasure your auHouncement can bring. 
I accept the trust committed to my hands as the work of our party. As to the 
character of the campaign to be entered upon I will take a^ early occasion to re- 
ply more fnlly than I can properly do to-night. I thank you for the assurance of 
confidence and esteem you have presented to me, and hope we shall see our future 
as promising as are the indications to-night. 

Senator Hoar in the same manner presented the nomination to General Arthur, 
who responded in an appropriate speech. 



38 



Summary of all the ballots cast in the Chicago Convention. 



Ballots. 






a 




'c/2 

■a 


o 


'6 

05 


Fiist 


304 

305 

305 

305 

305 

305 

305 

306 

308 

305 

305 

304 

30S 

305 

309 

306 

303 

305 

305 

308 

305 

805 

304 

305 

302, 

3G6 

:^07 

307 

305 

307 

308 

309 

309 

312 

313 

306 


284 
282 
281 
281 
281 
280 
281 
284 
282 
282 
281 
283 
285 
285 
281 
283 
284 
283 
279 
276 
276 
275 
275 
279 
281 
277 
275 
270 
27C 
279 
276 
270 
276 
275 
257 
42 


94 
94 
93 
95 
95 
95 
94 
91 
90 
92 
93 
93 
89 
89 
88 
88 
90 
92 
95 
93 
96 
97 
97 
93 
94 
93 
92 
91 
116 
118 
119 
119 
110 
107 
101 


34 
32 
32 
32 
32 
32 
32 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
33 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
12 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 
11 


30 
. 31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
31 
32 
32 
32 
32 
33 
33 
33 
36 
34 
34 
35 
32 
35 
35 
35 
36 
35 
35 
36 
37 
35 
35 
33 
33 
35 
44 
32 
23 
5 


10 
31 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
10 
7 
4 
3 
3 
4 
4 
3 




Second 


1 


Third 


1 




1 


Fifth 




Sixth 


2 




2 


Eighth 


1 


j^inth.. 


2 


Tenth 


2 




2 


Twelfth 

Thirteenth 


1 


Fourteenth 




Fifteenth 


















1 


Twentieth 


1 




1 




1 




2 


Twenty-fourth 


2 




2 


Twenty-sixth 


2 




2 


Twenty-eighth 


2 




2 


Thirtieth 


2 




1 


Thirty-second 


1 


Thirty-fourth 


1 

17 

50 


Thirty-sixth 


399 









General Harrison, of Indiana, received one vote on the third and fourth ballots; 
President Hayes one vote on the tenth, eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth ; G. W. 
McCrary one on the thirteenth ; Davis one on the seventeenth ; Hartranft one on 
the nineteenth, twentieth, twenty-first and twenty-second ; General Sheridan one 
on the thirtieth, and Conkling one on the thirty-first. 

The nomination of James A. Garfield was a strong and a wise one in itself. It 
harmonized the various factions and thoroughly united the Republican party. His 
very character was the prototype of Republicanism. His self-made manhood, his 
magnificent intellectual attainments, his large and impartial views of public policy, 
his unsullied private and public character, his firm devotion to Republican princi- 
ples and policies, bid fair to make him a candidate in whose support all Republi- 
cans would come together with a vigor and enthusiasm invincible. 

Everywhere his nomination was received with perfect gratification. The sup- 
porters of Grant, Sherman, Edmunds and Wasbburne turned to him with a zeal 
and interest marked and determined. 

His letter of acceptance was given to the country in a short time, carrying with 
it general satisfaction to the whole Republican party. His letter is given in the fol- 
lowing chapter. 



39 



CHAPTER II. 

GENERAL GARFIELD'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE. 

Mentor, Ohio, July 12, ISSO. 

Dear Sir : On the evening of the 8th of June last I had the honor to receive 
from you in the presence of the committee of which you were chairman, the 
official announcement that the Republican national convention at Chicago had 
that day nominated me as their candidate for President of the United States. I 
accept the nomination with gratitude for the confidence it implies, and with a 
deep sense of the responsibilities it imposes. I cordially indorse the principles set 
forth in the platform adopted by the convention. On nearly all the subjects of 
which it treats, my opinions are on record among the published proceedings of 
Congress. I venture, however, to make special mention of some of the principal 
topics which are likely to become subjects of discussiovi. 

Without reviewing the controversies which have been settled during the last 
twenty years, and with no purpose or wish to revive the passions of the late war, 
it should be said that while Republicans fully recognize and will strenuously de- 
fend all the rights retained by the people, and all the rights reserved to the 
States, they reject the pernicious doctrine of State supremacy which so long crip- 
pled the functions of the National Government, and at one time brought the Union 
very near to destruction. They insist that the United States is a nation with 
ample power of self-preservation ; that its Constitution and the laws made in 
pursuance thereof are the supreme law of the land ; that the right of the nation 
to determine the method by which its own legislature shall be created cannot be 
surrendered without abdicating one of the fundamental powers of Government ; 
that the national laws relating to the election of representatives in Congress shall 
neither be violated nor evaded ; that every elector shall be permitted freely and 
without intimidation to cast his lawful ballot at such election and have it honestly 
counted, and that the potency of his vote shall not be destroyed by the fraudulent 
vote of any other person. 

The best thoughts and energies of our people should be directed to those great 
questions of national well-being in which all have a common interest. Such eSbrts 
will soonest restore perfect peace to those who were lately in arms against each 
other ; for justice and good-will will outlast passion. But it is certain that the 
wounds of the war cannot be com^ letely liealed, and the spirit of brotherhood 
cannot fully pervade the whole country until every citizen, rich or poor, white or 
black, is secure in the free and equal enjoyment of every civil and political right 
^i^uaranteed by the Constitution and the laws. Whenever the enjoyment of these 
rights is not assured discontent will prevail, immigration will cease, and the social 
and industrial forces will continue to be disturbed by the migration of laborers 
and T,he consequent diminution of prosperity. The National Government should 
exercise all its constitutional authority to put an end to these evils ; for all the 
people and all the States are members of one body, and no member can sufter 
without injury to all. The most serious evils which now afflict the South arise 
from the fact that there is not such freedom and toleration of political opinion 
and action that the minority party can exercise an efli'ective and wholesome re- 
straint upon the party in power. Without such restraint party rule becomes 
tyrannical and corrupt. The prosperity which is made p-isuble in the South by its 
great advantages of soil and climate will never be realii ,d uutii every voter can 
freely and safely support any party he pleases. 

POPULAR EDUCATION. 

Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which 
neither freedom nor justice caR be permanently maintained Its interests are in- 
trusted to the States and to the voluntary action of the people. Whatever help 
the nation can justly afford should be generously given to aid the States in support- 
mg common schools ; but it would be unjust to our people and dangerous to our 
institutions to apply any portion of the revenues of the nation, or of the States, 
to the support of sectarian schools. The separation of the church and state in 
everything relating to taxation should be absolute. 



40 

THE NATIONAL FINANCES. 

On the subject of national finances, my views have been so frequently and fully 
expressed that little is needed in the w^ay of additional statement. The public 
debt is now so well secured and the rate of annual interest has been so reduced by 
refunding, that rigid economy in expenditures and the faithful application of our 
surplus revenues to the payment of the principal of the debt will gradually but 
certainly free the people from its burdens, and close with honor the financial chapter 
of the war. At the same time the Government can provide for all its ordinary 
expenditures, and discharge its sacred obligations to tlie soldiers of the Union, and 
to the widows and orphans of those who fell in its defence. The resumption of 
specie payments, which the Republican party so courageously and successfuly ac- 
complished, has removed from (he field of controversy many questions that long 
and seriously disturbed the credit of the Government and tlie business of our 
country. Our paper currency is now as national as the flag, and resumption has 
not only made it everywhere equal to coin, but lias brought into use our store of 
gold and silver. The circulating medium is more abundant than ever before, and 
we need only to maintain the equality of all our dollars to insure to labor and 
capital a measure of value from the use of which no one can suffer loss. The 
great prosperity which the country is now enjoying should not be endangered by 
any violent changes or doubtful financiai experiments. 

THE TARIFF. 

In reference to our custom laws, a policy should be pursued which will bring 
revenues to the Treasury, and wdl enable the labor and capital employed in our 
great industries to compete fairly in our own markets with the labor and capital of 
foreign producers. We legislate for tlie people of the United States, and not for 
the whole world ; and it is our glory that the American laborer is more intelligent 
and better paid than his foreign competitor. Our country cannot be independent 
unless its people with their abundant natural resources possess the requisite skill 
at any time to clothe, arm, and equip themselves for war, and in time of peace to 
produce all the necessary implements of labor. It was the manifest intention of 
the founders of the Government to provide for the common defense, not by stand- 
ing armies alone, but by raising among the people a greater army of artisans whose 
intelligence and skill should powerfully contribute to the safety and glory of the 
nation. 

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS. 

Fortunately for the interests of commerce, there is no longer any formidable 
opposition to appropriations for the improvement of our harbors aud great navi- 
gable rivers, provided that the expenditures for that purpose are strictly limited to 
works of nationaljimportance. The Mississippi river, with its great tributaries, 
is cf such vital importance to so many millions of people that the safety of its 
navigation requires exceptional consideration. In order to secure to the nation the 
control of all its waters, President Jeiferson negotiated the purchase of a vast ter- 
ritory, extending from tlie Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. The wisdom of 
Congress should be invoked to devise some plan by which that great river shall 
cease to be a terror to those who dwell upon its banks, and by whicii its shipping 
may safely carry the industrial products of 25,000,000 of people. The interests 
of agriculture, which is the basis of all our material prosperity, arid in which 
seven-twelfths of our, population are engaged, as well as the interests of manufac- 
turers and commerce, demand that the facilities for cheap transportation shall be 
increased by the use of all our great water-courses. 

CHINESE IMMIGRATION. 

The material interests of this country, the traditions of its settlement and the 
sentiment of our i eople have led the Government to ofier the widest hospitality 
to emigrants who seek our shores for new and happier homes, willing to share the 
burdens as well as the benefits of our society, and intending that their posterity 
shall become an undistinguishable part of our population. The recent movement 



41 

of the Chinese to our Pacific Coast partakes but little of the qualities of such aa 
immigration either in its purposes or its result. It is too much like an importation 
to be welcomed without restriction ; too much like an invasion to be looked upon 
without solicitude. - We cannot allow any form of servile labor to be introduced 
amon^ us under the guise of immigration. Recognizing the gravity ox this 
subject, the present administration, supported by Congress, has sent to China a 
commission of distinguished citizens, for tlie purpose of securing such a modifica- 
tion of the existing treaty as will prevent the evils likely to arise from tlie present 
situation. It is confidently believed that these diplomatic negotiations will be suc- 
cessful without the loss of commercial intercourse between the two powers, which 
promises a great increase of reciprocal trade and the enlargement of our markets. 
Should these eftbrts fail it will be the duty of Congress to mitigate the evils already 
felt and prevent their increase by such restrictions as, without violence or injustice, 
will place upon a sure foundation the peace of our communities and the freedom 
and dignity of labor. 

THE CIVIL SERVICE. 

The appointment of citizens to the various executive aud judicial offices of the 
Government is perhaps the most difficult of all duties which the Constitution has 
imposed on the executive. The convention wisely demands that Congress shall 
co-operate with the executive departments in placing the civil service on a better 
basis. Experience has proved that with our frequent changes of administration 
no system of reform can be made effective and permanent without the aid of legis- 
lation. Appointments to the military and naval service are so regulated by law 
and custom as to leave but little ground for complaint. It may not be wise to 
make similar regulations by law for the civil service, but without invading the 
authority or necessary discretion of tlie executive. Congress should devise a method 
that will determine the tenure of office, and greatly reduce the uncertainty which 
makes that service so unsatisfactory. Without depriving any officer of his rights 
as a citizen, the Government should require him to discharge all his official duties 
with intelligence, efficiency and faithfulness. To select wisely, from our vast pop- 
ulation, those who are best fitted for the many offices to be filled requiies an 
acquaintance far beyond the range of any one man. The executive should there- 
fore seek and receive the information and assistance of those whose knowledge of 
the communities in which the duties are to be performed best qualifies to aid in 
making the wisest choice. 

The doctrines announced by the Chicago convention are not the temporary 
devices of a party to attract votes and carry an election ; they are deliberate con- 
victions resulting from a careful study of the spirit of our institutions, the events of 
our history and the best impulses of our people. In my judgment these principles 
should control the legislation and administration of the Government. In any 
event, they will guide my conduct until experience poiuts out a better way. 

If elected it will be my purpose to enforce strict obedience to the Constitution 
and the laws, and to promote, as best I may, the interests and honor of the whole 
country, relying for support upon the wisdom of Congress, the intelligence and 
patriotism of the people, and the favor of God. 

With great respect I am, very truly yours, 

J. A. GARFIELD. 

To the Hon. George F. Hoak, Chairman of the Committee. 



CHAPTER III. 
HIS CAMPAIGN AND ELECTION". 



The platform adopted by the Republican national convention was as follows : 
The Republican party, in national convention assembled, at the end of twenty 
years since the Federal Government was committed to its charge, submits to the 
people of the United States this brief report of its administration : 

It suppressed a rebellion which had armed nearly a million of men to subvert the 
-national authority, [applause ; J it reconstructed the Union of States with freedom 
4 



42 

instead of slavery as its corner stone, [applause ;] it transformed 4,000,000 human 
beings from the likeness of things to the rank of citizens, [applause ; ] it relieved 
Congress from the infamous work of hunting fugitive slaves, and charged it to see 
that slavery does not exist, [applause ;] it has raised the value of our paper cur- 
rency from 38 per cent, to the par of gold, [applause ;] it has restored, upon a solid 
basis, payment in coin of all national obligations, and has given us a currency abso- 
lutely good and equal in every part of our extended country, [applause;] it has 
lifted the credit of the nation from the point where 6 per cent, bonds sold at 86, to 
that where 4 per cent, bonds are eagerly sought at a premium. [Applause.] 

Under its administration railways have increased from 31,000 miles in 1860 to 
more than 82,000 miles in 1879. [Applause.] Our foreign trade increased from 
$700,000,000 to $1,150,000,000 in the same time, and our exports, which were $20,- 
000,000 less than our imports in 1860, were $265,000,000 more than our imports in 
1879. [Applause, and cries of "Good !" '" Good ! "] Without resorting to loans, it 
has, since the war closed, defrayed the ordinary expenses of the Government 
besides the accruing interest on the public debt, and has disbursed annually more 
than $30,000,000 for soldiers' and sailors' pensions. It has paid $880,000,000 of the 
public debt, and by refunding the balance at lower rates, has reduced the annual 
interest charge from nearly $150,000,000 to less than $89,000,000, All the indus- 
tries of the country have revived, labor is in demand, wages have increased, and 
throughout the entire country there is evidence of a coming prosperity greater 
than we have ever enjoyed. 

UPON THIS RECORD 

the Republican party asks for the continued confidence and support of the people, 
and this convention submits for tlieir approval the following statement of the prin- 
ciples and purposes which will continue to guide and inspire its efforts : 

1st. We affirm that the work of the Republican party for the last twenty years 
has been such as to commend it to the favor of the nation ; that the fruits of the 
costly victories which we have achieved through immense difficulties should be pre- 
served ; that the peace regained should be cheiishe;^ ; that the Union should be 
perpetuated, and that the liberty secured to this generation should be transmitted 
undiminished to other generations ; that the order established and the credit ac- 
quired should never be impaired ; that the pensions promised should be paid; that 
the debt so much reduced should be extinguished by the full payment of every 
dollar thereof ; that the reviving industries s^bould be further promoted, and that 
the commerce already increasing should be steadily encouraged. 

2d. The Constitution of the United States is a supreme law, and not a mere con- 
tract. [Applause.] Out of confederated States it made a sovereign nation. Some 
powers are denied to the nation, while others are denied to the States, but the 
boundary between the powers delegated and those reserved is to be determined by 
the national, and not by the State tribunal, [Cheers.] 

3d. The work of popular education is one left to the care of the several States, 
but it is the duty of the National Government to aid that work to the extent of its 
constitutional ability. The intelligence of the nation is but the aggregate of the 
intelligence in the several States, and the destiny of the nation must be guided, 
not by the genius of any one State, but by the average genius of aU. [Applause.] 

4th. The Constitution wisely forbids Congress to make any law respecting the 
establishment of religion, but it is idle to hope that the nation can be protected 
against the influence of secret sectarianism, while each State is exposed to its 
domination. We, therefore, recommend that the Constitution be so amended as 
to lay the same prohibition upon the legislature of each State, and to forbid the 
appropriation of public funds to the support of sectarian schools. [Cheers.] 

5th. We reaffirm the belief avowed in 1876 tliat the duties levied for the purpose 
of revenue should so di- criminate as to favor American labor, [cheers;] that no 
further grants of the public domain should be made to any railway or other corpor- 
ation ; that slavery having perished in the States its twin barbarity, polygamy, 
must die in the Territories; that everywhere the protection accorded to a citizen 
of American birth must be secured to citizens by American adoption. That we 
deem it the duty of Congress to develop and improve our seacoast and harbors, but 
insist that further subsidies to private person? or corporations must cease, [cheers;] 
that the obligations of the Republic to the men who preserved its integrity in the 



43 

day of battle are undiminished by the lapse of fifteen years since their final victory. 
To do thorn honor is and shall forever be the grateful privilege and sacred duty of 
the American people. 

6th. Since the authority to regulate immigration and intercourse between the 
United States and foreign nations rests witli the Congress of the United States and 
the treaty-making power, the Republican party, regarding the unrestricted immi^ 
gration of Chinese as a matter of grave concernment under the exercise of both 
these powers, would limit and restrict that immigration by the enactment of such, 
just, humane, and reasonable laws and treaties as will produce that result. 

7th. That the purity and patriotism which characterized the earlier career of 
Rutherford B. Hayes in peace and war, and which guided the tlioughts of our 
immediace predecessors to him for a Presidential candidate, have continued to* 
inspire him in liis career as Chief Executive ; and that history will accord to his 
administration the honors which are due to an efficient, just, and courteous dis- 
charge of the public business, and will honor his vetoes interposed between the 
people and attempted partisan laws. [Cheers.] 

8th, We charge upon the Democratic party the habitual sacrifice of patriotism:- 
and justice to a supreme and insatiable lust for office and patronage ; that to obtain 
possession of the iN'acional Gov(!rnment and control of the place, they have 
obstructed all efforts to promote the purity and to conserve the freedom of the 
suffrage, and have devised fraudulent ballots, and invented fraudulent certifieatioa- 
of returns; have labored to unseat lawfully elected members of C^igress to secure 
at all hazards the vote of a majority of States in the House of Representatives ; 
have endeavored to occupy by force and fraud the places of trust given to others 
by the people of Maine, rescued by the courage and action of Maine's patriotic 
sons; have by methods vicious in principle and tyrannical in practice, attached 
partisan legislation to appropriation bills upon whose passage the very movement 
of the Government depended; have crushed the rights of the individual; have 
advocated the principles and sought the favor of the rebellion against the nation,, 
and have endeavored to obliterate the sacred memories and to overcome its inesti- 
mably valuable results of nationalitj', personal freedom, and indivi<lual equality. 

The equal and steady, and complete enforcement of the laws, and the protection 
of our citizens in the enjoyment of all privileges and immunity guaranteed by the 
Constitution, are the first duties of the nation. [Applause.] 

The dangers of a "Solid South " can only be averted by a faithful performance 
of every promise which the nation has made to the citizen. [Applause.] The 
execution of the laws, and the punishment of all those who violate them, are the 
only safe methods by which an enduring peace can be secured and genuine pros- 
perity established throughout the South, [Applause.] Whatever promises the 
nation makes the nation must perform. A nation cannot with safety relegate this 
duty to the States, The "Solid South" must be divided by the peaceful agencies of 
the ballot, and all honest opinions must there find free expression. To this end the 
honest voter must be protected against terrorism, violence, or fraud. [Applause.] 

And we affirm it to be the duty and the purpose of the Republican party to use 
all legitimate means to restore all the States of this Union to the most perfect 
harmony which may be pos.sible, and we submit to the practical, sensible people of 
these United States to say whether it would not be dangerous to the dearest inter- 
ests of our country at this time to surrender the administration of the N'ational 
Government to a party which seeks to overthrow the existing policy under which 
we are so prosperous, and thus bring d'strust and confusion where there is now 
order, confidence, and hope. [Applause.] 

The Republican partjs adhering to the principles affirmed by its last national 
convention of respect for the con«ti:utional rules governing appointments to office, 
adopts the declaration of President Hayes that the reform of the civil service should 
be thorough, radical, and complete. To this end it demands the cooperation of 
the legislative with the executive departments of the Government, and that Con- 
gress shall so legislate that fitness, ascertained by proper practical tests, shall 
admit to the public seivice. 

On July 3d, a few days before the appearance of his letter of acceptance. General 
Garfield made an eloquent speech on the completion of a soldiers' monument at 
Painesville, Ohio. It is one of his characteristic speeches, and it is given in full : 

Fkllow-Citizens : I cannot fail to respond on such an occasion, in sight of 
such a monument to such a cause, sustained by such men. [Applause and cheers.] 
While I have listened to what my friend has said, two questions have been sweep- 



44 

ing through my heart. One was, What does the inf.nument mean? and the other, 
"What will the monument teach? Let me try, and ask you for a moment to help 
me to answer, "What does the monument mean ?" Oh, the monument means a 
world of memories, a world of deeds, a world of tears, and a world of glories. 
You know, thousands know, what it is to olFtr up your life to tiie country, and 
that is uo small thiiig, as every soldier knows. Let me put the question to you for 
a moment. Suppose your country, in the awful embodied form of majestic law, 
should stand before you and say, "I wt^nt your life: come up here on this plat- 
form and offer it," how many would walk up before that majestic presence and 
say, "Here am I; take this life and use it for j^our great needs." [Applause.] 
And yet, almost two millions of men made that answer. [Applause.] And a 
monument stands yonder to commemorate their answer. That is one of its mean- 
ings. 

But, my friends, let me try you a little further. To give up life is much; for it 
is to give up wife, and home and child, and ambition and all — almost all. But 
let me test you a little further. Suppose that majestic form should call out to you 
and say, ''1 ask you to give up health and drag yourself, not dead, but half alive, 
through a miserable existence for long years, until you perish and die in your 
crippled and helpless condition. I ask you to volunteer to do that." This calls 
for a higher reach of patriotism and self-sacrifice. But hundreds of thousands of 
our soldiers did it. That is what the monument means also. [Applaus-e.] 

But let me ask you to go one step further. Suppose your country should say, 
>".Come here, upon this platform, and for my name and for my sake consent to 
become idiots;" [-'Hear!" "Hear!"] consent that your very brain and intellect 
shall ije broken down into hopeless idiocy for my sake," how many could be found 
to make that venture? And yet thousands did it with their eyes wide open to the 
horrible consequences. And let me tell you how. One hundred and eighty thou- 
sand of our soldiers were prisoners of war; and among them, when death was stalk- 
ing, when famine was climbing up into their hearts, and when idiocy was threat- 
ening all that was left of their intellects, the gates of their prison stood open 
every day if they would just desert their flag and enlist under the flag of the ene- 
my; and out of one iiundred and eighty thousand not 2 per cent, ever received the 
liberation from death, starvation, idiocy, all that miglit come to them, but they 
endured all these horrors and all these sufferings in preference to deserting the 
flag of their country and the glory of its truths. [Grr^iiC applause.] Great God ! 
Was ever ^uch measure of patriotism reached by any men upon this earth before 1 
[Applause.] That is what your monument means. By the subtle chemistry that 
no ra 111 knows, alt the blood that was shed by our brethren, all the lives that were 
thus d(^voted, all the grief and tears, at last crj^stallized itself into granite and ren- 
.dered immortal the great truti)s for which tliey died. [Applause.] And it stands 
ibere to-day, e^nd that is what youi- monument means. 

Now, what will it teach? What will it teach? Why, I remember the story of 
one of the ok> conquerors of Greece, who, when he had traveled in hi* boyhood 
nvpr the bat,tlt3'li' Ids wiiere Miltiudea had won victories and set up trophies, 
returnirg he said: "These trophies of Miltiades will never let me sleep." Why? 




will Inok do" n upon tlie 'joys wno snau waiK iiiese snecus lui gcuciciL.w.io i^^ ^.^,^^, 
and he will not let them sleep when the country calls. [Applause ] More than 
nVe bu-ler on the field, from his granite lips will go out a call that the clnldren of 
T ake County will hear after the grave has covered us all and our nnmediate chil- 
Hren That is the teaching of your monument ; that is its lesson. It is the lesson 
of endurance for what we believe. It is the lesson of sacrifice for what we love; 
the lesson of heroism for what we mean to sustain; and that lesson cannot be 

^""u^s no^aT^^sol^ofre;enge; it is not a lesson of wrath. It is the grand, sweet 
le4on of the immortality of a truth that we iiope will soon cover, like the bhechi- 
nah f li'^ht and glory all parts of this Republic from the lakes to the gulf. 
fAnn^ause^l I once entered a hou«e in old Massachusetts where, over its d.-or, 
we two c ossed swords. One was the sword carried by the grandsire ^^^%o^^■l^ev 
^n the field of Bunker Hill, and tl.e other was a sword carrh d by the Enghsb 
ffraidsire of the wife on the same field and on the other side of the conflict. 
Undei those crossed swords, in the restored harmony of domest^ic peace, lived a 
family happy, contented and free under the light of our republican liberties. 



45 

[Applause.] I trust the time is not far distant wlien, under the crossed swords 
and the loclied shields of Americans, North and South, our people shall sleep in 
peace and rise in liberty and love and harmony under our flag of stars. 

Shortly after this the Democratic convention, in session at Cincinnati, placed 
General Hancock, of Pennsylvania, as nominee for President, and William En- 
glish, of Indiana, as nominee for Vice-President, in the tield at the head of the 
ticket, and the campaign began in earnest. It was fought with an earnestness 
that was almost bitterness frrm its incipiency until the very morning that the peo- 
ple went to the polls. 

New York was to be the great battle-ground in the conflict between the two 
parties. The completion of the ticket, by General Arthur's namf , strengthened 
the Republicans of that State. Ail the different and hitherto jarring elements of 
New York Republicanism were brought together to the support of Garfield and 
Arthur, and insured a vigorous campaign. There was a bright prospect of such a sig- 
nal Republican triumph as followed the nomination of Cornell. They commenced 
the campaign with a magnificent send-off", and through the entire campaign, 
every effort for their success was attended with spontaneous outbursts of enthus- 
iasm. Garfield visited. New York city in the early part of the campaign and 
received a grand ovation by the Republicans of that city. On the 6th of August 
he delivered this short and eloquent address to the "Boys in Blue :" 

Comrades of the "Boys in Blue" and Fellow Citizens of New 
York: I cannot look upon this great assemblage and these old vererans that 
have marched past us, and listen to the words of welcome from our comrade who 
has just spoken, without remembering how great a thing it is to live in this Union 
and be a part of it. [Applause.] This is New Yoik ; and yonder, toward the 
Battery. More than a hundred years ago a young student of Columbia College 
was arguing the ideas of the American Revolution and American union against 
the un-American loyalty to monarchy of his college president and professors. 
By-and-by he went into the patriot army, was placed on the staff of Washington, 
[cheers,] to fight the battles of his country, [cheers,] and while in camp, before 
he was twenty-one years old, upon a drum-head he wrote a letter which contained 
every germ of the Constitution of the United States. [Applause.] That student, 
goldier, statesman, and great leader of thought, Alexander Hamilton, of New 
York, made this Republic glorious by his thinking, and left his lasting Impress 
upon this the foremost State of the Union. [Applause.] And here on this island, 
the scene of his early triumphs, we gather to-night, soldiers of a new war, repre- 
lenting the same ideas of union, having added strength and glory to the monu- 
uraent reared by the heroes of the Revolution. 

Gentlemen, ideas outlive men ; Ideas outlive all earthly things. You who 
fought in the war for the Union fought for immortal ideas, and by their might 
you crowned the war with victory. [Great Applause.] But victory was worth 
nothing except for t!ie truths that were under it, in it, and above it. We meet to- 
night as comrades to stand guard around the sacred truths for which we fought. 
[Loud and prolonged cheers.] And while we have life to meet and grasp the 
hand of thecomrade we will stand by the great truths of the war. [''Good," '"Good," 
and loud cheers.] Many convictions have sunk so deep Into our hearts that we 
can never forget them. Think of the elevating spirit of the war itself. 
We gathered the boys from all our farms and shops and stores and schools 
and homes, from all over the Republic. They went forth unknown to fam*?. but 
returned enrolled on the roster of immortal heroes. [Great applause.] They 
went in the spirit of the soldier of Henry at Agincourt, of whom he said : 

" For he to-day that sheds his blood with me 
ShaU be my bt other ; be he ne'er so vile, 
This day siiall gentle his condition." 

And it did gentle the condition and elevate the heart of every worthy soldier who 
fought for the Union, [applause,] and he shall be our brother forevermore- An- 
other thing we will remember : we will remember our allies who fongitt with us. 
Soon after the great struggle began, we looked behind the army of white rebels, and 
saw 4,000,000 of black people condemned to toil as slaves for our enemies ; and we 
found that the hearts of these 4,000,000 were God-inspired with the spirit of liberty, 
and that they were all our friends. [Applause,] We have seen white men betray 
the flag and fight to kill the Union ; but in all that long, dreary war we never 



46 

saw a traitor in a black skin. [Great Cheers.] Our comrades escaping from 
the starvation of prison, fleeing to our lines by the light of the north star, never 
ieared to enter the black man's cabin and ask for bread. ["Good," "Good," 
" That's so," and loud cheers.] In all that period of suffering and danger, no Union 
soldier was ever betrayed by a black man or woman. [Applause.] And now that 
we have made them free, so long as we live we will stand by these black allies. 
[Kenewed applause.] We will stand by them until the sun of liberty, fixed in the 
firmament of our Constitution, shall shine with equal ray upon every man, black 
or white, throughout the Union. [Cheers.] Fellow-citizens, fellovz-soldiers, in 
this there is the beneficence of eternal j ustice. and bv it we will stand forever. [Great 
applau«e.] A poet has said that in individual life we rise " On stepping-stones 
of our dead selves to higher thing=," and the Re public rises on the glorious acheieve- 
ments of iiS dead and living heroes to a higher and nobler national life. [Applause 
We must stand guard over our past as soldiers, and over our country as the com- 
mon heritage of all. [Applause.] 

I thank you, fellow-citizens, for this magnificent demonstration. In so far as I 
represent in ray heart and life the great doctrines for which you fought, I accept 
this demonstration as a tribute to ray representative character. [Applause.] In 
the strength of your hands, in the fervor of your hearts, in the firmness of your 
faith, in all that greatness of manhood and nobleness of character, the Republic 
finds its security and glory. [Applause.] I do not enter upon controverted ques- 
tions. The time, the place, the situation forbid it. I respect the traditions that 
require me to speak only of those themes which elevate us all. Again I thank 
you for the kindness and enthusiasm of your greeting. [Tremendous cheering.] 

The Maine election was the first damper on the cause of the Republicans, and 
•defeat was feared in November. 

About this time, there was a meeting of Garfield, Grant, Conkling, Logan, and 
at Mentor strenuous efforts were at once put forth to carry the Democratic stall of 
Indiana, and in connection with Ohio, it was carried at the election in October. 

New York now came to be the deciding point. If it could be carried for Gar- 
field his election was assured ; if not, his defeat was certain. To accomplish the 
former end every means was put fortii. The result is well known. New York 
'Went Republican, and the sun had not set many hours on the night of November, 
before it was conceded on all hands that James A. Garfield had been duly (sleeted 
to be President of the United States. When the returns were compared in the Con- 
gressional convention, it was found that the States of Colorado (3), Connecticut (6), 
Illinois (21), Indiana (15), Iowa (11), Kansas (5), Maine (7), Massachusetts (13), 
Michigan (11), Minnesota (5), Nebraska (3), New Hampshire (5), New York (35), 
Ohio (22), Oregon (3), Pennsylvania (29), Rhode Island (4), Vermont (5), and Wis- 
consin (10;, had cast their electoral votes for the Republican candidate. With the 
one vote from California, this gave General Garfield a total of 214 votes against 
159 for General Hancock. The question as to who received a majority of the 
popular vote is still, as it always will be, undecided, although it is certain that the 
Democratic and Greenback vote together largely exceeded the Republican vote. 

The storm of politics which had been raging now calmed down and the people 
acquiesced at once in the result. There was no murmuring or bickering after the 
result became definitely known, and the avocations which had been left during the 
excitement were resumed. On the 24th of November General Garfi(dd came to 
Washington to finish up some business of a private nature. He arrived quietly, 
was received without ostentation and remained in seclusion during his stay. 

Then came the counting of the electoral vote by Congress, which took place Feb- 
iTuary 9, 1881. The question about counting the vote of Georgia, which had been 
cast upon a day other than that fixed for the castiiig by Congress, did not afl'ect 
the general result. With this exception the count proceeded without interruption 
until all the certificates had been opened. After the result had been summed up 
by the tellers. Senator Thurman reported it to the two Houses. " Wherefore," 
said Vice-President Wheeler, in a loud tone of voice, " I do declare that 
James A. Garfield, of the State of Ohio, having received a majority of the votes 
of the whole number of electors appointed, is duly elected the Pnsident of the 
United States for four years, commencing with the 4rh of March, 1381. And 1 do 
further declare that Chester A. Arthur, of tlie State of New York, having received 
a majority of the votes of the whole number of electors appointed is duly elected 
Vice-President of the United States for four years fiom iLie 4Lh day of March, 
1881." 



47 

On the 28th of February the President-elect left Mentor for Washington, the 
Presidential party consisting of General and Mrs-. Garfield, Mrs. Eliza Garfield, 
his venerable mother; Miss Mollie, his daugliter, and Irwin and Abram, two of 
his sons ; Maj.-Gen. Swaim and J. St^anley Brown, private secretaries ; Col. T. A. 
Sheldon and wife, of Cleveland, and Capt. C. E. Henry, of Cleveland. The 
President-elect made some three or four speeches along the route, and immense 
crowds gathered to greet him wherever the train stopped. 

The following is his speech on leaving Mentor : 

"I tliank you for this cordial and kindly greeting and farew^ell. You have come 
from your homes — than which no happier are known in this country — from this 
beautiful lakeside, full of all that makes a country life happy, to give me your 
blessing and farewell. You do not know how much I leave behind me of friend- 
ship and confidence and iiorae-like happiness ; but I know I am indebted to this 
whole people for acts of kindness, of neighborly friendship, of political confidence, 
of public support, that few men have ever enjoyed at tlie hands of any people. You 
are a part of tliis great community of Northern Ohio which for so many years have 
had no political desu-e bu', the good of your country, no wish but the promotion of 
liberty and justice; have had no scheme but the building up of all that was worthy 
and true in our Republic. If I were to search over all the world I could not find 
a better model of political spirit, of aspirations for the truth and right, than I have 
found in this community during the eighteen years its people have honored me 
with tiieir confidence. I thank the citizens of the county for their kindness, and 
especially my neighbors of Mentor, who have demanded so little of me and have 
done so much to make my home a refuge and a joy. What awaits me I cannot 
now speak of, but I shall carry to the discharge of the duties that lie before me, bo 
the problems and dangers I may meet, a sense of your confidence and your love 
which will always be answered by my gratitude. Neighbors, friends and constitu- 
ents, farewell." 

Tiie party arrived in Washington about 9 o'clock on the morning of the 1st of 
March. Mrs. Eliza Garfield was immediately conveyed to the White House at the 
request of Mr. and Mrs. Hayes, while the rest of the party occupied rooms at the 
Riggs House. 

During the three days preceding his inauguration General Garfield received a 
large number of visitoi's. During this time, also, speculation was rife as to whom 
he would appoint as his Cabinet oflicers. 



CHAPTER IV. 

HIS INAUGURATION. 

On Friday, the 4th of March, 1881, James A. Garfield was inaugurated President 
of the United States. 

We are a progressive nation, and procreative as well, to judge from the crowds 
that swarmed the national capital to aid in the inauguration of the President. 
By contrast with all other Presidents, Garfield's reception enstamps him as the 
most popular, excepting the first inauguration, that of Washington in New York, 
in April, 1780, when people too poor to employ vehicles— steamboats and cars 
being unknown — tramped hundreds of miles to participate in the afl"air. 

Never was there seen in any city in this country, save in Washington, two such 
triumphal processions as the "farewell parade of the conquering armies of Grant 
and Sherman iu 1865, and the reception of Garfield as President in 1881. In the 
former the thousands and thousands of worn and war-stained veterans filed 
through the cobble-stoned streets exhausted and tattered; th^^re were no kid- 
gloved soldiers then. In the latter the elegance of peace was blended with the 
martial solendor of war and the forests of bayonets that caught luster from a fine 
sun and glistened above thousands of faultlessly attired, handsome, men. 

Affairs looked unpropitious on Thursday evening. Riin put in its appearance, 
changed its mind and turned to hail, and the hail to snow. The city was blinded 
by a dead storm on the eve of the 4th. Tlie day itself, however, woke up with 
sunlight, and before the triumphal parade the grand, broad avenue was clean and 
dry. 



48 

Months of preparation had been spent in the endeavor to make the inaugnratiori 
a spectacle worthy of a grand country. 

The Government buildings were all decorated. Most of them were ornamented 
under a general contract. The work was done very neatly and with good taste. 
The buildings which were not under the general contract were the more hand- 
somely dressed, the employees located in them having a pride in seeing how well 
they could make their official habitations aopear. 

The immense avenue front and Tvvelftli-sh-eet side of that building was decorated 
most elaborately and displayed an originality that was very pleasing. From the 
flagstafFon the roof there floated an immense banner. From it in four directions there 
depended streams of banners to the roof. They were not small and cheap floaters 
by any means. The best of bunting and the richest silk made a ha.mooy rich and 
grateful to the eye. This was also true of the details below the roofs. The many 
windows were draped in flags and smaller banners blew from the windows. Over 
the whole avenue front and Twelfth-street side of the building was a network of 
red, white and blue cable chains. The cables were exactly of the size used for 
l^choring purposes by men-of-war, and were made of compact though light 
material. They were strung across each other and appeared to be one continuous 
cable. There was not too much put on. The spaces between the network were 
of such size that the building was brought out very eftectively, and seemed to dec- 
orate the decorations. Where there were crossings in the cable, the pictures of 
celebrated men in the country's history looked out. On the avenue front was a 
large picture. It represented a one-legged soldier seated. On the right was a 
woman with a child in her arms. Over the two stoorl Columbia in an attitude 
denoting protection, while from a cornucopia in her right hand, she rained coin. 
The coat-of-arms of the Union found place in the decorations. The coats of 
different States were also neatly interlaid here and there with good eff"ect. Over 
the tower at the corner was a gilt sunburst, which fitly capped the most gaily 
adorned building in the city. 

The Census Office building was decorated very elaborately. The red stone in its 
structure helped the work of adornment. From its flagstaff on the roof floated a 
big flag, with smaller ones on loops reaching to the roof on either side. The 
windows looked as if curtains of flags half drawn had been put on the out- 
side instead of the inside. Between the windows were crossed ensigns. The 
doors of the ground floor were overhung with parted flasks. From the windows on 
the second floor large banners hung down. The effect of the whole was very 
good. 

The Quartermaster General's office, on the corner of the avenue and fifteenth 
street, was decorated by a hand which knew its business. The gray walls toned well 
in their holiday dress. The flag on the roof was rich and costly. From the edge of 
the roef hung long and short flags at intervals. None of them, however, were 
directly over a window below. Between the windows on each story were crossed 
flags. A number of the flags used were signalling banners, and the numbers on 
them did much to relieve tiie eye tired with contemplating bannt-rs of uniform 
color and sizes, seen everywhere. Gonfalons hung from the windows. They 
were rich and beautiful. On the ground floor the doors were very beautifully 
arraj'ed. They looked like so many entrances to the tents of military commanders 
as depicted on the theatrical stage. 

The gray and somewhat unclean-looking east front of the Treasury Department 
building looked very pretty. From the poles on the roofs floated flags. Streamers 
of small ensigns of all kinds were thrown from its top to the roof in angles of 
well-chosen degrees. The sturdy old pillars were swathed about ten feet from 
their base with wide flags. From the band tlius made tliere projected medium- 
sized banners on staffs. The space on the portico between the pillars was closed 
to a height of about three feet with an apron of flags. From the roof on the 
south end of the building there fell long ropes to either side of the building, from 
which blew flags, ensigns and banners of all kinds. The entrance on either end 
was handsomely draped. The Fifteenth-street entrance was the prettiest part of 
the building. Tliree lines of streamers and banners fell from tlie roof angularly 
below. The entrance door was arclied over with roiled bunting. Big flags hung 
down either side, and all was pleasant to look at. Tlie drop of the lines of ropes 
of decorations from the roof was very graceful. The nortli entrance of the 
building was adorned as the south. The long sweeo of tl\e Fifteentli-street side of 
the Treasury made it a most satisfactory vie»v. Tliere was something about ihe 



49 

old pillars that gave a grander effect to the picture. On the porticoes on this side, 
as in front of the north side, stands were erected. They did not harmot.ize with 
the general effect very well, hut the incongruii-y of their appearance was somewhat 
relieved hy their being decorated so as to partially conceal the ro'Jgh lumber. 

The State arclies which spanned each street as it intersected the avenue were 
handsome. The drapery hung a little heavy, but was not out of place. The arches 
were an iron frame-work, garlands of evergreens wound around the span of each 
arch and hung below in graceful loops. Flags were also wound over the arch 
and were gracefuUv draped below. On either side of each arch was a shield. In 
thp center of each arch on the side facing the avenue was the shield of a State 
with the date of her admission into the Union. At each corner of the iron frame- 
work were put flags. Around the State coat-of-arms there arose above 'dl other 
portions of the arch flags crossed and banked. The whole made a very pretty pile. 

The big arch on Fifteenth street looked well. It was not dwarfed as much as 
was expected by either the Treasury or the Corcoran building. 

The color of the arch — a neutral bronze tint — was a pleasant contrast to its gray 
gurroundings. The arch was 70 feet w'cle and about thfi same height. On the 
east side of it was a tower which in the absence of a similar erection on the other 
side, seemed to some eyes to throw the whole out of symmetrv. There were win- 
dows in different parts of the arch, in which were placed the coats-of-arms of 
each State and lerritory. On the top of the tower there were flags and flags. 
They were artistically bouchpd. Flags went off from all across the arch. Flags 
hung from the space to a little below the portcullis. Draperies were put on the 
upright columns and green garlands placed here and there. The big arch was a 
big success. 

The Department of Justice building was very pretty indeed. Fla^s pushed 
themselves out of the windows in a way that would have looked saucy but for the 
heavier surroundings in the drapery of the window casements. Festoons hung 
from window to window. The heavy blocks that form the sill of windows could 
not be seen for their covering of national colors. A stand had been thrown out 
from the second-story window. It was covered with drapery, and added to rather 
than detracted from the appearance of the building. 

The White House was not decorated very elaborately. The old pile will not 
stand such decoration. The pillars in front were wound, about sis feet up, with 
broad flags. An evergreen hung here and there. Over the door was a winding 
of colors. The windows were curtained outside with flags. The iron railing that 
forms the outer barrier of the portecochere was concealed by flags and evergreens. 
The drive from the eastern to the western entrance to the groiinds was spanned at 
short intervals overhead, from tree to tree, by festoons or small ensigns and ban- 
nerets. 

The new State, War and Navy Department building stood out in its magnificence 
with not much in the way of ornamentation. It needed no fixing up. It is such 
a huge pile, with so many graces of construction and arrangement of pillars, that 
to hide them with banners and things would take an enormous lot of bunting, 
and, after all. make it look cheap and nasty. What there was of decoration was 
very tasteful and not overdone. From the cupola on the central part of the build- 
ing were stretched lines of pretty flags to the middle of the finished wings run- 
ning north and south. The columns were wound around with flags. Over each 
door and window were draped flags in easy folds. From each of the many dormer 
windows projected a fla<?. 

The Signal Office, on G street, threw banners to the breezes and enfolded doors 
and windows in the clinging bunting. 

The Interior Department building had flags around its columns, belted about 
twenty feet up with broad flags. Smaller ones on staffs projected from this belt- 
ing. The roof threw a large flag and streamers to the breeze. The windows and 
doors were fixed up with bright bunting. 

The Post-Office Department building had on its roof the usual floating flags of 
large size and loops of smaller ones. From tlie central portion of each side of 
the building there diverged to the porticoes below lines of small banners. 

The Washineton Monument was handsomely decorated, having guy ropes at- 
tached to the top of the flagstaff lined with pennants and streamers and extend- 
ing to two immense shields pendant on the east and north sides, on which are in 
large letters '' G " and " W " respectively. These shields are (secured on the lower 
edge with guy ropes to the ground, to which are also attached small flags and 
streamers. 



50 

The decoration of private liouses tiiroughout the city was pretty general, and 
in many cases the ornamentation was quite elaborate and tasteful ; especially was 
this noticeable on the line of the procession. This, added to the more extensive 
displays in the ornamentation of the public buildings and street crossings pre- 
sented a continuous and very handsome appearance. 

By the bright light in the morning the military companies were forming, and 
the hum and harmony of numerous band* swelled over the city. At half-past ten 
the procession started. Contrary to previous inaugural arrangements, the grandest 
portion of the parade was on the return of Garfield from the Capitol; and this was 
a wise change in the programme. 

Pennsylvania captured the city, and General Hartranft, at the head of his mag- 
nificent National Guards, the finest military organization in the world, was a big- 
ger man than old Grant. As he cantered down the avenue, backed by his aides, 
his remarkable resemblance to General Fitz Lee was remarked, and many mar- 
veled with the idea that an ex-Confederate should head a Pennsylvania organiza- 
tion bf ten thousand men. 

Garfield, Hayes and Thurman rode down together. The towpath boy was 
plainly dressed — exceedingly so. Hayes looked sad and meditative, and the nap 
on his old beaver was brushed the wrong way. Thurman occasionally brought 
his time-honored bandana to bear upon his nasal protuberancp. and the crowd, 
thinking he was using an American Aug, cheered vociferously. To Senator Thur- 
man, more than to any other of the party, is due, in great part, the intense en- 
thusiasm with which Garflidd was received. The A'li'^rican 6.1. •:, or any semblance 
thereof, never fail-! to awaken the applause of the American people, and that ban- 
dana should be caged and hung up as a memorial for other ages to look upon and 
weep. 

No school-boy, with a holiday and a healthy stomach, ever wore a happier face 
than did Garfield as he went to the time-honored Capitoliue edifice and accepted, 
"• so help him God," the office of the Chief Executive of the United States, its re- 
sponsibilities and patronagp. His face shone with honest pride and noble exulta- 
tion, and the brightness was intensified by contrast with the sad gloom that sat 
like black care on the crupper above the brow of Hayes. 

The Senate chamber was filled with men of prominence and ladies of social dis- 
tinction. The first arrival was that of Senator Blaine, who ushered in General 
Hancock. Attired in his full uniform, this six feet three of handsome humanity 
created a great sensation — much greater than Sheridan, who filed in later. 

The keen, sharp face of S 'cretary Evarts, following his Ca3>arian nose, next 
entered, and back of it the diplomatic corps of the various legations, each diplo- 
mat having more orders than a bar-tender on a crowded Sun lay. The clock was 
set back, as the President was slow to put in an appearance. 

Vice-President Arthur arrived first, escorted by Senator Bayard, and was sworn 
into office by Vice-President Wheeler, who introduced him as his successor in a 
neat speech, tlie first that Wheeler made while in office. 

Upon the platform on the east front of the Capitol sat Garfield, Dick Bright, as 
his custodian, upon his left; Chief Justice Waite was upon his right. Nearly 
two hundred thousand people were about and before him, a wond of faces looking 
upon him. 

Immediately behind Garfield was Hayes and Mrs. Hayes, and in their group the 
little, sweet-faced, white-haired mother of the President-elect, his wife, and their 
children, Mrs. Garfield, the wife of the President, is a delicate, sensitive-looking 
and exceedingly intelligent lady. Indeed, much of her husband's eminence and 
success was due to her influence upon the fa-hioning of his life. 

He was surrounded on that great occasion by the most illustrious of our states- 
men, jurists and soldiers, and by many others who had achieved distinction in the 
various walks of life. 

A'^ soon as order could b3 restored in this vast crowd, he arose and read the 
following : 

Fellow Citizens : We stand to-day upon an eminence which overlooks a 
hundred years of national life— a centiu-y crowned Math perils, but crowned with 
the triumphs of libi^>rty and law. Before continuing the onward march, let us 
pause on this height for a moment to strengthen our faith and renew our hope by 
a glance at the pathway along which our people hive traveled. 

It is now three days more than a hundred years since the adoption of the first writ- 
ten Constitution of the United States, the Articles of Confederation and perpet- 



51 

ual Union. The new Kepublic was then beset with danger on every hand. It 
had not conquered a place in the family of nations. The decisive battle of the 
war for independence, whose centennial anniversary will soon be gratefully cele- 
brated at Yorktown, had not yet been fought, the colonists were struggling not 
onl}' against the armies of a great nation, but against the settled opinions of 
manliind ; for the world did not then believe that the supreme authority of gov- 
ernment could be safely intrusted to the guardianship of the people themselves. 

We cannot overestimate the fervent love of liberty, the intelli j:ent courage, and 
the sum of common senso with which our fathers made the great experiment of 
self-government. 

When they found, after a short trial, that the confederacy of States was too 
weak to meet the necessities of a vigorous and expandins republic, they boldly 
set it aside, and in its stead established the National Union, founded directly 
upon the will of the people, endowed with full power of self-preservation and 
ample authority for the accomplishment of its great object. 

Under this Constitution the boundaries of freedom have enlarged, the founda- 
tions of order and peace have been strengthened, and the growth of our people 
in all the better elements of national life has indicated the wisdom of the founders 
and given new hope to their descendants. Under this Constitution our people 
long a^o made themselves safe against danger from without and secured for their 
mariners and flag equality of rights on all the seas. Under this Constitution 
twenty-five States have been added to the Union, wi!h constitutions and laws 
framed and enforced by their own citizens to secure the manifold blessings of 
local self government. 

The ju'isdiction of this Constitution now covers an area fifty times greater than 
that of the original thirteen States, and a population twenty times greater than 
that of 1780. 

The supreme trial of the Constitution came at last, under the tremendous 
pressure of civil war. We ourselves are witnesses that the Union emerged from 
the blood and fire of that conflict purified and made stronger for all the beneficent 
purposes of good government. 

And now, at the close of this first century of growth, with the inspirations of 
its history in their hearts, our people have lately reviewed the condition of the 
nation, passed judgment upon the conduct and opinions of political parties, and 
have registered their will concerning the future administration of the Govern- 
ment. To interpret and to execute that will in accordance with the Constitution 
is the pai'amount duty of the Executive. Even from this brief review it is mani- 
fest that the nation is resolutely facing to the front, resolved to employ its best 
energies in developing the great possibilities of the future. Sacredly preserving 
whatever has been gained to liberty and good government during the century, 
our people are determined to leave behind them all those bitter controversies 
concerning things which have been irrevocably settled and the further discussion 
of which can only stir up strife and delay the onward march. 

Tbe supremacy of the nation and its laws should be no longer a subject of 
debate. That discussion which for half a century threatened tlie existence of 
the Union was closed at last in the higii court of war by a decree from whi jh there 
is no appeal, that the Constitution and laws made in pursuance thereof are and 
shall continue to be the supreme law of the land, binding alike upon the States 
and tlie people. This decree does not disturb the autonomy of the States, nor 
interfere with any of their necessary rights of local self-governmnit ; but it does 
fix and establish the permanent supremiey of the Union. 

The will of the nation, speaking with the voice of battle and through the 
amended Constitution, has fulfilled the great promise of 1776 by proclaiming 
'• libertv throughout the land to all the inhabitants hereof." 

The elevation of the negro race from slavery to the full rights of citizenship is 
the most important political change we have known since the adoption of the Con- 
stitution of 17S7. No thoughtful man can fail to appreciate its beneficent eftects 
upon our institutions and people. It has freed us from the perpetual danger of war 
and dissolution. It has added immensely to the moral and industrial forces of 
our people. It has liberated the master as well as the slave from a relation which 
wrong>xl and enfeebled both. It has surrendered to their own guaidianship the 
manhood of more than five millions of people, and has opened to each one of them 
a career of freedom and asefulness. It has given new inspiration to the power of 



52 

self-help in both races by making labor more honorable to the one and more neces- 
sary to the other. The influence of this force will grow greater and bear richer 
fruit with the coming years. 

No doubt this great changje has caused serious disturbance to our Southern com- 
munities. This is to be deplored, though it was perhaps unavoidable. But those 
who resisted the change should remember that under our institutions there was no 
middle ground for the negro race between slavery and equal citizenship. There 
can be no permanent disfranchised peasantry in the United States. Fr'edom can 
never yield its fullness of blessings so long as the law of its administration places 
the smallest obstacle in the pathway of any virtuous citizen. 

The emancipated race has already made remarkable progress. With unquestion- 
ing devotion to the Union, with a patience and gentleness not born of fear, they 
have "followed the light as God gave them to see the light." They are rapidly 
laying the material foundations of self-support, widening their circle of intelligence, 
and beginning to enjoy the blessings that gather around the homes of the industri- 
ous poor. They deserve tlie generous encourasfement of all good men. So far as 
my authority can lawfully extend they shall enjoy the full and equal protection of 
the Constitution and law. 

The free enjoyment of equal suffrage is still in question, and a frank statement 
of the is«ue may aid in its solution. It is alleged that in many communities negro 
citizens are practically denied the freedom of the ballot. In so far as the truth of 
this allegation is admitted, it is answered that in many places honest local govern- 
ment is impossible if the mass of uneducated negroes are allowed to vote. These 
are grave allegations. So far as the latter is true, it is the only palliation that can 
be offered for opposing the freedom of the ballot. Bad local gov^^•nment is cer- 
tainly a great evil which ought to be prevented ; but to violate the freedom and 
sanction of the suffrage is more than an evil; it is a crime which, if persisted in, 
will destroy the Government itself. Suicide is not a remedy. If in other lands it 
be high treason to compass the death of the king, it shall be counted no less a crime 
here to strangle our sovereign power and stifle its voice. 

It has been said thai unsettled questions have no pitj' for the repose of nations. 
It should be said with the utmost emphasis that this question of suffrage will never 
give repose or safety to the States or the nation until each, with its own jurisdic- 
tion, makes and keeps the ballot free and pure by the strong sanctions of the law. 

But the danger which arises from ignorance in the voter cannot be denied. It 
covers a field far wider than that of negro suffrage and the present condition of 
the race. 

It is a danger that lurks and hides in the sources and fountains of power in every 
State. We have no standard by which to measure the disaster that may be brought 
upon us by ignorance and vice in the citizens, when joined to corruption and fraud 
in the suffrage. 

The voters of the Union, who make and unmake constitutions, and upon whose 
will hangs the destinies of our Government, can transmit their supreme authority 
to no successor save the coming generation of voters, wlio are the sole heirs of 
sovereign power. If that generation comes to its inheritance blinded by ignorance 
and corrupted by vice the fall of the Republic will be certain and remeililess. The 
census has already sounded the alarm in the apallingfigures which mark how dan- 
gerously high the tide of ilMteracy has risen among our voters and their cluldren. 

To the South this question is of supreme importance ; but the responsibility for 
the existence of slavery did not i-est upon the South alone. The nation itself is 
responsible for the extension of the suftrage, and is under special obligations to aid 
in removing the illiteracy which it has added to the voting population. 

For the North and South alilce there is but one remedy. All the constitutional 
power of the nation and of the States, and all the volunteer forces of the people 
should be summoned to meet this danger by the savory influence of universal edu- 
cation. It is the higli privilege and sacred duty of thos.* now living to educate 
their successors and tit them, by intelligence and virtue, for the inheritance which 
awaits them. In this beneficent woik sections and races should he forgotten and 
partisanship should be unknown. Let our people find a new meaning in the divine 
oracle wliirh declares that "a little child shall lead them," for our own little chil- 
dren will soon control the destinies of the. Republic. 

My countrymen, we do not now differ in our judgment concerning the contro- 
versies of past generations, and fifty years hence our ciiildren will not be divided 
in their opinjons concerning controversies. They will surely bless their fathers 



63 

and their fathers' God that the Union was preserved, that slavery was overthrown, 
and that both races were made equal before the law. We may hasten or we may 
retard, but we cannot prevent the final reconciliation. It is not possible for us 
now to make a truce with time by anticipatinjjand accepting its inevitable verdict. 
Enterprises of the highest importance to cur moral and material well-being unite 
us and offer ample scope for the employment of our best powers. Let all our peo- 
ple, leaving behind tiiem the battle-fields of dead issues, move forward, and in the 
strength of liberty and the restored Union win the grander victories of peace. 

The prosperity which now prevails is without a parallel in our history. Fruitful 
seasons have done much to secure it, but they have not done all. The preservation 
of the public credit and the resumption of specie payments, so successfully attained 
by the administnition of my predecessors, has enabled our people to secure the 
blessings which the seasons brought. By the experience of commercial nations in 
all ages it has been found that gold and silver afford the only safe foundation for a 
monetary system. Confusion has recently been created by variations in the rela- 
tive value of the two metals. But I confidently believf that arrangements can be 
made between the leading commercial nations which will secure the general use of 
both metals. Congress should provide that the compulsory coinage of silver now 
required by law may not disturli our monetary system by driving either metal out 
of circulation. If possible, such an adjustment should be made that the purchas- 
ing power of every coined dollar will be exactly equal to its debt-paying power in 
all the markets of the world. The chief duty of the National Government in con- 
nection with the currency of the country is to coin money and declare its value. 
Grave doubts have been entertained wiiether Congress is authorized by the Con- 
stitution to make any form of paper money legal tender. The present issue of 
United States notes has been sustained by th;i necessities of war; but such paper 
should depend for its value and currency upon its convenience in use and its prompt 
redemption in coin at the will of the holder, and not upon its compulsory circula- 
tion. These notes are not money, but promises to pay money. If the holders 
demand it the promise should be kept. 

The refunding of the national debt at a lower rate of interest should be accom- 
plished without compelling the withdrawal of the national-bank notes, and thus 
disturbing the business of the country. 

I venture to refer to the position I have occupied on financial questions during a 
long service in Congress, and to say that time and experience have strengthened 
the opinions I have so often expressed on these subjects. The finances of the 
Government shall sufl'er no detriment which it may be possible for my adminis- 
tration to prevent. 

The interests of agriculture deserve more attention from the Government than 
they have yet received. The farms of the United States afford homes and employ- 
ment for more than one-half our people, and furnish much the largest part of all 
our exports. As the Government lights our coast for the protection of mariners 
and the benefit of commerce, so it should give to the tillers of the soil the best 
lights of practical science and experience. Our manufacturers are rapily making 
us industrially independent, and are opening to capital and labor new and profit- 
able fields of employment. Their steady and healthy growth should still be main- 
tained. 

Our facilities for transportation should be promoted by the continued improve- 
ment of our harbors and great interior waterways, and by the increase of our ton- 
nage on the ocean. The development of the world's commerce has led to an 
urgent demand lor shortening the great sea voyage around Cape Horn by con- 
structing ship canals or railways across the isthmus which unites the two conti- 
nents. Various plans to this end have been suggested, and will need cot>sidera- 
tion ; but none of them have been sufficiently matured to warrant the United 
States in extending pecuniary aid. The subject is, however, one which will imme- 
diately engage the attention of the Government, with a view to a thorough protec- 
tion of American interests. We will urge no narrow policy nor seek peculiar or 
exclusive privileges in any commercial route ; but, in the language of my prede- 
cessor, I believe it to be the "right and duty of the United States to assert and 
maintain such supervision and authority over any interoceanic canal across the 
isthmus that connects North and South America as will protect our national 
interests." 

The Constitution guarantees absolute religious freedom. Congress is prohibited 
from making any law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the 



54 

free exercise thereof. The Territories of the United States are subject to the direct 
legislative authority of Congress, and hence the General Government is responsi- 
ble for any violation of the Constitution in any of thera. It is tlierefore a reproach 
to the Government that in the most populous of the Territoiues tlie constitutional 
guarantee is not enjoyed by the people, and the authority of Congress is set at 
naught. The Mormon church not only offends the moral sense of manhood by 
sanctioning polygamy, but prevents tlie administration of justice through ordi- 
nary instrumentalities of law. In my judgment it is tlie duty of Congress, while 
respecting to the uttermost the conscientious convictions and religious scruples of 
every citizen, to prohibit within its jurisdiction all criminal practices, especially 
of that class which destroy the family relations and endanger social order. Nor 
can any ecclesiastical organization be safely permitted to usurp in the smallest 
degree the functions and powers of the National Government. 

The civil service can never be placed on a satisfactory basis until it is regulated 
by law. For the good of the service itself, for the protection of those who are 
entrusted with the appointing power against the waste of time and obstruction of 
public business caused by the inordinate pressure for place, and for the protection 
of incumbents against intrigue and wrong, I shall at the proper time ask Congress 
to fix the tenure of the minor offices of the several Executive Departments and 
prescribe the grounds upon which removals shall be made during the terms for 
which incumbents have been appointed. 

Finally, acting always within the authority and limitations of the Constitution, 
invading neither the rights of tlie States nor the reserved rigiits of the people, it 
will be the purpose of my administration to maintain the authority of the nation 
and in all places within its jurisdiction, to enforce obedience to all the laws of the 
Union in the interests of the people, to demand rigid economy in all the expendi- 
tures of the Government, and to require the honest and faithful service of all 
executive officers, remembering that tlie offices were created not for the benefit of 
incumbents or their supporters, but for the service of the Government. 

And now, fellow-citizens, I am about to assume the groat trust which you have 
commuted to my hands. I appeal to you for that earnest and thoughtful support 
which makes this Government in fact, as it is in law, a government of the people. 

I shall greatly rely upon the wisdom and patriotism of Congress and of those 
who may share witli me the responsibilities and duties of administration. And, 
above all, upon our efforts to promote the welfare of this great people and their 
Government, I reverently invoke tlie support and blessings of Almighty God. 

General Garfield then took the oath of office as President of the United States. 
Immediately after taking the oath, he turned and kissed his mother and then his 
wife. This was a tender and touching scene, illustrative of the great heart and 
affectionate nature of the new President. Ex-President Hayes was the first to 
shake General Garfield by. the hand and greet him as President. All parties sepa- 
rated then ; the President, ex-President Hayes, Senators Thurman and Bayard, 
riding to the WhittfHouse together. preceded and followed by thousands of military, 
regulars and volunteers, and between two seas of multitudinous men and women 
thronging and surging on either side of the avenue. The perfect pageant was 
witnessed on the return trip. Miles of solid, f uU-companied platoons filled the 
broad avenue, their bayonets bristling and glistening in the sun. Tlie regular 
array had the precedence, and with measured tread and in perfect movement pre- 
ceded tlie barouche bearing the new President. As far, indeed much farther, 
than the eye could reach, the militia followed on horseback and afoot. One fact 
was decided by the inaugural procession : We need no standing array save that 
which we have. Pennsylvania alone could furnish enough well-drilled and equipped 
soldiers to meet and defeat any outside invaders that might actempt a march upon 
or against us. If it had not been for Pennsylvania there would have been rather 
a slim prcjcession as far as military display was concerned. 

The procession was in five divisions, and required nearly three hours to pass a 
given point. 

President Garfield entered the White House with the confidence and admiration 
of every State and section. The highest hopes of the American people were cen- 
tered in him. 

The fireworks on tlie evening of the 4th were unequalled in the country's history. 

The inaugural ball, given in the new National Museum, was a magnificent enter- 
tainment and a memorable feature of that day of universal joy and gladness. 



55 

The new administration, ushered in with pomp, pride, and circumstance of 
marching military, brass bands, fireworks, and the acclamations of a hundred 
thousand spectators, began its career under circumstances unexampled in this 
generation. For the first time in nearly fifty years a party has chosen its forensic 
leader President. 

The inaugural delivered from the east portico of the Capitol was the first that 
has been heard within memory from the lips of an orator trained to his art in 
debate upon the floor of Congiess, or educated to public aifairs by active share in 
their conduct at the political center. 

Moreover, it was the first Inaugural since John Quincy Adams minced his pedan- 
tic sentences in 1825, conceived in the brain of a student and a scholar, in that 
broad, generous sense of the terms by whic h it has become the rare exception to 
describe American Presidents. 

The White House has been sometime a barrack for rude soldiers to clank their 
sabres and jingle their spurs in ; sometimes the residence of adroit party plotters 
and shrewd political intriguers ; and latterly the headquarters of an impromptu 
temperance society ; but rarely what it was likely to be for four years to come, the 
abode of a student, a thinker, and a man of high intellectual tastes, gifts and 
fellowship. 

All this was a matter of sincere congratulation. We remember to have said, the 
Sunday after the Chicago convention, that if Garfield should be elected — then seem- 
ing improbable — the White House would be thereby a more agreeable resort for 
men of brains than it had been within our memory. This observation needed no 
amplification to readers who had known Garfield for nigh a score of years as a 
debater and dialectician, holding in the Araeiican Congress rank relative to that 
held by Edmund Burke in the House of Commons. And if any attestation had 
been needed it was furnished forth amply in the majestic address upon which, as a 
corner-stone, the new President founded the administration for tlie success and 
glory of which friends and foes alike vied in prayer. 

Standing thus apparently upon the threshold of an era of good feeling, it is 
proper to consider the causes that hava operated to allay the bitterness of party, 
silence the murmurs of faction and unite diversities of opinion, or of interest in 
one common hope for the general public weal. There was no man in this country 
so vitally interested in knowing these causes, or to whom a proper appreciation of 
them was so requisite to success and fair fame, as Garfield. 

It is the common thing to say that a change of a few thousand votes in the 
State of New York would have elected the other man; that Garfield won by a 
lucky scratch, and more for quantity. That is all quite true. But the history of 
all destiny is the annals of accident. Turn to whatsoever page you please, and 
you fint' that the hinge upon which the greatest events have turned has been that 
of the least premeditation, the least systematic calculation and the nearest anprox- 
imation to the rule that "the unexpected happens." A moment's hesitancy or 
indecision in the sergeant who collared the president of the French Directory 
might have lost to history Napoleon Bonaparte, with all the magic and all the 
miracle that ensuing time thickened upon his name. 

''Had the three hundred and thirty-two Spartans of the Thirty-ninth infantry," 
says the historian of the British Empire in India, "been other than they were; had 
their grim cheeks blanched, their thin, red line wavered, or their stout hearts 
quailed at the approach of their sixty thousand dusky foes, I'lassy had not been 
won, Clive had been a name forgotten, and the Hindoo peninsula had remained to 
mock the civilization of the nineteenth century with its petty wars of rajahs and 
its veiled diplomacy of zenanas." 

Human destiny has ever hung upon not only brittle, but most attenuated threads 
and those breaking when and where least expected. 

And having been elected Garfield began an administration whose only danger 
lay in the vices of his friends — his own virtue not counting much in the game 
either way. Two classes of political advisers, olficial or unofficial, always sur- 
round an American President. Both advise him to do well by his party, so as to 
pave its way for renewed success, at the next election; but one class advises him 
to serve his party by serving his country, while the other exhorts him to serve his 
party by serving his party— which means, being translated, "give us the offices 
and we will give you the responsibility." 

The fellows who want the party served are the fellows who did it at the late 
election. They were the chaps who went howling upon all the stumps in the country. 



56 

They were the diplomats who insinuated the wedge of intrigue between the two 
stupid Democratic factions in New Yorlc. These proceed upon the theory that 
the first duty of an administration is to parcel out the public patronage, with sal- 
aries attached, to such henchmen as the boss may designate ; and tiien, if the 
President can find time between the quarrels of the little placemen, he may devote 
some attention ro ihe real, material alFairs of the puhlic as a whole. 

The men who want the country served are quite as much in earnest as the others, 
but they fall far short of them in the important attributes of lung-power and im- 
pudence. Tliey do not lay ultimatums before tlie President, threatening that 
unless they are '* recognized " they will make it ''hot for his administration " in 
the Senate and in the House, or at the next election. They proifer their advice 
calmly and go away. 

Well, between the two classes of advisers the Cabinet slate has been tossing for 
some weelis — or rather slates, for there has been a good many of them ; made to 
be broken. And Garfield, good-natured, disliking scenes and desiring to please 
everybody, has apparently let his mind drift with the clashing currents hither and 
yon. 

We were not one of his advisers. But we were indifferently one of his friends, 
and as sucli we said to him that his own judgment was better, his own perception 
clearer and his own motives more patriotic than those of any single individual or 
group engaged in the delectable task of consuming his time and distracting his 
patience; wherefore the sooner lie began to let some of them know tiiat the President 
was James A. Garfield, and nobod.y else, the better it would be for his adminis- 
tration, and thereby for that considerable and highly respectable faction of the 
American people who do not train under any boss and who ask no oflices. 

If Garfield would havn faikd at all he would have failed because of his indif- 
ferent capacity to say " No;" because of the sentimental goodness of nature and 
benevolence of soul which made his career in tne House almost inconsistent as it 
was brilliant, and which, in whatever station, has always made him the easy prey 
of base friends. 

During the late campaign, when we werg in the habit of protesting against the 
systematic calumny that formed the front and center of the Democratic onset, we 
demonstrated that evt-ry cliarge of corruption laid at Garfield's door, if calmly 
investigated and judiciaily analyzed, would turn out to the credit of his humanity 
and redound to his estimation in the eyes of all fair-minded men ; for that they 
were all predicated u;K)n his profusion of one of the very noblest traits of man — 
confidence in his fellovv-men and desire to serve those whom he thought worthy to 
be served. 

This u)ight have been his fate again ; for there was no sign, either in the expres- 
sion of his frank face, or in the manner of his greeting to old friends, that his high 
exaltation has had the slighest eftect upon his character, wrought the least change 
in his modes of thought, or made any alteration in his habits of view. But if he 
allows his absurd faith in men's proie;!sions to lead him into new traps he would find 
that, fierce as was the fight which beats upon a leading representative in Congress, 
it was no more comparable to that in wiiich he must have henceforth moved and 
acted than a tallow dip at midnight is to the sun at noon. Viewing his adminis- 
tration from the standpoint of simple wish that it may have been successful for 
the sake of the whole country, and without an ax or even a hatchet of our own to 
be ground, we say^ again that we would rather have trusted Garfield's instincts 
than the designs of any of the men who surrounded him ; that the more his 
instincts cropped out in his administration the better it would have been for him 
and the people at large. 



CHAPTER V. 

HIS ADMINISTRATION. 

Garfield's brief administration began with the evidence that it was a Garfield 
administration. He was an experienced public man, and showed his sagacity 
in nothing more th.ui in the ability to listen to advice and follow his own judg- 
ment. II is first official move proved this. His Cabinet was his own selection, 
and although he made many changes in it, for various reasons, yet the princi- 




K()S( OL ('o\K MNCt 



57 < 

pies of its construction were what he meant they should be long before the 
multitudinous and miscellaneous pilgrimage to Mentor began. Whatever crit- 
icism may be made upon the Cabinet, it is clear that, politically speaking, its 
construction was very skillful. The proof of this was that it was generally 
acceptable, while the President remained master. On the afternoon of the 5th 
of March the nominations were sent to the Senate. The Senate immediately 
went into executive session, and, after ninety minutes' talk, the nominations 
were confirmed. 

The Cabinet was as follows : Secretary of State, James G. Blaine ; Secretary 
of the Treasury, William Windom ; Postmaster-General, Thomas L. James ; 
Secretary of the Navy, William H. Hunt ; Secretary of War, Robert T. Lin- 
coln ; Attorney- General, Wayne MacYeagh ; Secretary of the Interior, Samuel 
J. Kirkwood. 

Secretary Blaine is a native of Washington county, Pennsylvania ; was born 
on the last day of January, 1830. He was at one time a school teacher in Ken- 
tucky, taut turned his attention to journalism, and became editor of the Port- 
land Advertiser. He was elected to the Thirty-eighth Congress, and Avas 
Speaker of the House during the Forty-first, 'Forty-second, and Forty-third 
Congresses, when Randall succeeded him. Senator Blaine was succeeded in 
the Senate by Frye. 

Secretary Windom was born in Ohio in 1827. He is a lawyer by profession, 
and removed from his native State to Minnesota in 1855. He entered Con- 
gress at the same time with Blaine, and remained in that body until 1870, when 
he was appointed by the governor to fill the vacancy caused by the death of 
Senator Norton. 

Secretary Lincoln is the youngest member of the Cabinet, being scarcely 
forty years of age. He is the eldest son of Abraham Lincoln, and is a native 
of Illinois. He is an able lawyer and a pleasant gentleman. 

^Yayne MacVeagh, of Pennsylvania, Attorney-General, is a native of the 
State from which he is appointed, a middle-aged man, and wealthy. He is a 
son-in-law of Simon Cameron. 

Secretary Hunt is a Louisianian by birth, and of North Carolina parentage. 
He is abaut 55 years of age, and the handsomest member of the Cabinet. Prior 
to the war he was Ji pronounced Whig, and during secession a strong Unionist, 
although he remained in the South. He has Deen judge of the United States 
Court of Claims for several years, and is universally popular with and esteemed 
by both parties. 

Postmaster-General James is a New Yorker, and for several years has filled 
the onerous duties of postmaster of that city. He will find his labors less diffi- 
cult and demanding as Postmaster-General than as the boss of the New York 
office. 

Senator Kirkwood, who relieves Mr. Schurz, is a native of Iowa. He is a 
rugged, jolly old gentleman, with an immense fund of good humor, common 
sense and business capacity. We predict that he will be not only a very efficient, 
but an immensely popular Secretary. No man in public life understands the 
knotty questions arising out of the relations between the Government and the 
Indians more thoroughiy or more practically than he does. 

The administration of President Garfield opened most auspiciously. Domes- 
tic tranquilHty, amicable relations with all nations, a growing kindliness of feel- 
ing between the sections, a cheerful acquiescence in liis accession to the office 
by those who opposed him in the election, a general disposition on the part of 
aU the people to believe in the purity of his motives and the honesty of his 
purposes — these are the great facts of the happy situation under which the new 
administration entered upon its work. Unfortunately our late President had 
but one opportunity to declare the policy by which he intended to be governed 
in the administration of his office. That was on the 4th of March, immediately 
after the oath had been administered to him, and while he still stood with un 
covered head on the east portico of the Capitol. There and then he gave utter- 
ance to words as noble and elevating as any that ever fell from the lips of either 
of his predecessors. He said : 

" And now at the close of this first century of growth, with the inspirations 
of its history in their hearts, our people have lately reviewed the condition of 
the nation, passed judgment upon the conduct and opinions of political parties, 
5 



58 

and have registered their will concerning the future administration of the 
Government. To intepret and to execute that will in accordance with the 
Constitution is the paramount duty of the Executive." 

The words we have quoted distinctly discountenanced the idea that the ad- 
ministration was to he non-partisan. The President was an earnest Republican, 
because he believed the purposes of that party were as patriotic and beneficial to., 
all the people as those of the opposition were injurious, narrow, and reaction- 
ary. We have heard him say: "He serves his country best who serves his 
party best ! " And then he enlaj'ged upon this by saying that ours is a govern- 
ment of parties, as all governments by the people must Toe, and that every pa- 
triotic citizen, having joined in party action with those whose political aims 
and plans are the best in his opinion, can of course best serve his country by 
promoting the success of such a party. He had acted upon this view, and, 
having been elected by the Republican party, he recognized it to be his duty 
to execute the will, in accordance with the Constitution, and carry out the 
opinions of that portion of the people who had prevailed over the other in a 
struggle to determine whicli set of opinions and antecedents should control in 
the conduct of public affairs. 

Thus we find that the policy of President Garfield was to be a party policy— 
a Republican policy. 

But he did not confine himself to generalities. The index to his swelling 
theme may be thus briefly given. He declared that the people, by again sum- 
moning the Republican party to power, had decided in favor of the following 
guiding i^rinciples: 

National supremacy over States in national concerns. 

Universal and equal personal and political freedom. 

Freedom and purity of the ballot-box. 

Universal education. 

Pinal reconciliation of the sections upon these enduring bases. 

He announced his adherence to the views concerning finance and currency 
which he had so often expressed in Congress, and which are generally enter- 
tained by Republicans. He expressed concern for the gi-eat industrial interests 
of the country, and recommended that the Government " give to the tillers of 
the soil the best light of practical science and experience," and said that the 
"steady and healthy growth" of manufactures "should be maintained." 

Internal improvements he advocated as facilities for internal commerce, 
and a canal under American control to connect the Atlantic and the Pacific 
oceans, as a promoter of foreign commerce. He advocated the prohibition of 
polygamy as a criminal practice. 

Concerning the civil service, he said: "The civil service can never be placed 
on a satisfactory basis until it is regulated by law. For the good of the service 
itself, for the piotection of those who are entrusted with the appointing power 
against the waste of time and obstruction of the public business, caused by the 
inordinate pressure for place, and for the protection of incumbents against in- 
trigue and wrong, I shall, at the proper time, ask Congress to fix the tenure of 
the minor offices of the several executive departments, and prescribe the 
grounds upon which removals shall be made during the terms for which in- 
cumbents shall have been appointed." 

Further on, he said he should "require the honest and faithful service of all 
executive officers, remembering that the offices were created not for the benetit 
of incumbents or their supporters, but for the service of the Government. 

Such was the policy marked out by James A. Garfield on the day of his in- 
auguration. The time never came for him to impress it upon the country 
otherwise than by tte masterly manner in which he presented it. He clothed 
it in language full of power and elegance, and as its body was synmietrical. so 
its soul was great. . . , -r .. 

His policy, it will be seen, was broad and based wholly on principles. Liotty 
contemplation of historic national events and progress, impassioned zeal for 
liberty, popular government, and general education, reconciliation on the basis 
of natimial supremacy— these were the matters that pressed upon him, and to 
interweave them with the destiny of the nation was his policy. 

For a while all went well. The Republican Senators, to whom Mahone had 
allied himself, reorganized the Senate committees on a Republican basis, and 
as the House, when it should meet, would be Republican also, the President 
was assured of co-operation. 



59 

On the 24tli of Marcli, however, President Garfield sent to tlie Senate the 
name of Judge William H. Robertson as collector of the port of New York. 
This was looked upon as an affront by those in the Republican party who held 
what they termed "stalwart" views. This faction had, as its leader. Senator 
Conkling, of New York. It was just at this time, aleo, that the Republicans 
attempted to elect Senate officers, which was contested by the Democrats. The 
parties were so evenly divided that a deadlock was the result. This lasted 
from March 25 until May 4. On the 3d of the latter month the Republicans 
held a caucus, in which they decided to abandon their position, the deadlock 
was broken the following day and the business of the executive session was 
resumed. 

During all this time Conkling had remained hostile to the Executive and had 
opposed the confirmation of Robertson. President Garfield had sent in. along 
with Robertson's name, the nominations of Payn, Woodford and other of 
Conkling 's friends for various Federal positions in the State. On the oth of 
May these latter names were withdrawn, making a direct issue with Conkling. 
The antagonism continued for several days, until on Friday, May 14, both 
Senators Conkling and Piatt forwarded their resignations as Senators to the 
Governor of New York. 

It was not until Monday, the 17th of May, that Conkling informed the Senate 
of their resignation. The announcement fell like a thunderbolt everywhere. 
It was so unexpected that a feeling of surprise preceded tlie question. '-Why 
did he do it'r"' His own side of the matter was put forth in his letter of resig- 
nation to Governor Cornell. In this he claimed that the President had In'oken 
faith with him and had not consulted him in regard to tlie New York appoint- 
ments, while he asserted that his own acts were impelled by the purest motives. 
He then went before the legislature of his own State, expecting a justification 
which he did not receive. 

That legislature sent Judge Lapham and Hon. Wm. Miller to the United 
States Senate, to fill the vacancies created by the resignations of Messrs. Conk- 
ling and Piatt. 

On the 8th of May the nomination of Robertson was confirmed by the Demo- 
cratic Senate, and tyvo days later the executive session was adjourned sine die. 

On Monday, April 25, the colossal statue of Admiral Farragut was unveiled 
in Farragut Circle, Washington city. President Garfield was present at the 
imposing ceremonies, and accepted the statue in the name of the nation in the 
following terse and appropriate language; 

Fellow-citizens:— It is the singular province of art to break down the lim- 
itations which separate|the generations of men fromjeach other, and allow those 
of past generations to be comrades and associates of those now living. This 
capital is silently being filled up with the heroes of other times. Men of three 
wars have taken their places in silent eloquence as gulirdians and guards of 
the nation they loved' so well, and as years pass on these squares and public 
places will be rendered more and more populous, more and more eloquent by 
the presence of dead heroes of other days. From all quarters of the country, 
from all generations of its life, from all portions of its service these heroes 
come by the ministry and mystery of art to take their places and stand as per- 
manent guardians of our nation's glory. 

To-day, we come to hail this hero who comes from the sea down from the 
shrouds of his flagship wreathed with the smoke and glory of victory, bringing 
sixty years of national life and honor to take his place as an honored compatriot 
and perpetual guardian of his nation's glory. 

In the name of the nation I accept this noble statue, and his country will 
guard it as he guarded his country. 

This was the last time he spoke in public. The financial policy of the 
administration, as outlined by Secretary Windom during its early days, was 
acceptable to all, and but added to those presages of success which loomed up 
on every hand. The examination into the Star Route cases, begun by Post- 
master-General James, promised to be another notable feature of the admin- 
istration. 

His administration was that which was indorsed by the great majority of 
the American people. They desire no change; they wish his views and his 
policies to be carried out, though he is no longer here to direct them in person. 
Suchloving regard and such faith were never shown before. That it is General 



60 



4... 



Arthur's desire to carry out the wishes of the people we have not the slightest 
doubt. I*fowhere else can General Arthur look for this advice, and lean so reli- 
antly upon that given him, as on General Garfield's Cabinet. The gentlemen 
who composed it were selected by the master mind, and the harmony with 
which they have worked, and^tlie results they have accomplished, show how 
wise, how discerning was the mind that chose them. 



PART III. 



THE ASSASSINATION. 

CHAPTER I. 

THE PRESIDENT SHOT. 

* Washington, July 2, 1881. 

About half -past nine o'clock this morning, the startling news rapidly spread 
throughout the city that the President, who was about to depart from the city, 
had been fatally shot at the Baltimore and Potomac railroad depot. The hor- 
rible intelligerce, coming so unexpectedly, was soon proved to be too true. The 
city was soon full of excitement, and as the various officials were galloping up 
and. down the avenue, vast crowds of people made their way to the depot. 

President Garfield was shot in the morning at half-past nine o'clock, in the 
ladies' room of the Baltimore and Potomac depot. He had jnst alighted from 
his carriage to take the cars for the ISroi:th. Secretary Hunt and Mrs. Hunt, 
Secretary Windom and Mrs. Windom, Postmaster-General James, and the rest 
of the party had taken their seats in the car. Colonel Jamieson, of the Post 
Office Department, who was to have charge of the transportation of the party, 
was standing at the g9,tes leading to the cars. He heard a pistol shot quickly 
followed by another. There was a rush to the ladies' room whence the sounds 
came. President Garfield was found lying on the floor, having fallen to the 
left. Secretary Blaine came out of the room following a man, and calling 
"Rockwell ! Where is Rockwell '?" The man was seized by Officer Kearney and 
Mr. Parks, the depot policeman. The President was taken upstairs. Dr. 
Bliss arrived soon afterwards. The shot w^ent in at the right side of the back, 
between the hip and the kidney. It then passed forward, and went down into 
the groin. It was probed for, but could not be found. There is hope for the 
President recovering, but he is in a very critical condition. 

The shooting occurred w4ien the President and Secretary Blaine were walk- 
ing arm-in-arm through the ladies' room. Secretary Blaine was not going with 
the party, but came down to bid the President "Good-bj^e.*" He said: "The 
President and I were walking arm-in-arm towards the train. I heard two 
shots and saw a man run. I started after him, but seeing that he was grabbed 
just as he got out of the room, I came to the President, and found him lying 
on the floor. The floor was covered with the President's blood. A number of 
people who were around shortly afterwards have some of that blood on their 
persons. I think I know the man. I think his name was Ditteau." 

The assassin is about five feet seven inches in height, of strong though not 
stout build. The weapon he used was a revolver about seven inclies long. It 
had an ivory handle. The caliber was very large; it is what is known as the 
"California" pistol. It made a very loud report. When arrested, he said: "I 



61 

did it and want to be arrested. I am a stalwart and Arthur is President now. 
I have a letter here I want you to give to General Sherman ; it will explain 
everything. Take me to the police station." 

Officers were sent to the police headquarters, by order of those around the 
President, to get the name of the assassin. He very willingly wrote his name 
and address on a sheet of paper, as follows : 

"Charles Guiteau, 

Attorney-at-Law, 
Chicago, 111. " 

The following letter was taken from the prisoner's pocket at police head- 
quarters, showing conclusively the intention to kill the President : 

July 2, 1881. 
To the White House: 

The President's tragic death was a sad necessity, but it will unite the Eepub- 
lican party and save tlie Kepublic. Life is a flimsy dream, and it matters little 
when one goes. A human life is of small value. During the war thousands 
of brave boys went down without a tear. I presume the President was a Chris- 
tian, and that he will be happier in Paradise than here. It willbe no worse for 
Mrs. Garfleld, dear soul, to part with her husband this way than by natural 
death. He is liable to go at any time, anyway. I had no ill-will toward the 
President. His death was a political necessity. I am lawyer, a theologian and 
a politician. I am a stalwart of the stalwarts. I was with Generfll Grant and 
the rest of our men in New York during the canvass. I have some papers 
for the press which I shall leave with Byron Andrews and his cojournalists 
at 1420 New York avenue, where aU the reporters can see them. I am going 
to the jail. Charles Gtjiteau. 

The President was laid on the floor until a mattress could be procured, and 
at once was removed to a room in the second story of the depot. The assassin 
attempted to run out at the Sixth-street door, but for some reason turned back, 
when Special Offic r Scott and Officer Kearney caught him and at once took 
him to police headquarters. Mr. Garfield's son was with him at the time, and 
as his father fell he burst into a paroxysm of tears. Secretaries Blaine, Hunt 
and Lincoln, and Postmaster-General James were all at the depot at the time. 
The waiting-room was crowded at the time, both with Northern and Southern 
passengers, and when the shot was fired Mr. J. W. Wheeler, of Hampton, Vir- 
ginia, was seated with a lady so close to the President that he heard the whiz- 
zing of the ball uncomfortably near him. He states that at the time of the 
first shot the assassin was not over seven or eight feet from him. Mr. Garfleld 
wlien he fell turned deadly pale and soon after he was carried upstairs he vom- 
ited. 



CHAPTER II. 

EEMOVAL OF THE PRESIDENT TO THE WHITE HOUSE. 

About 10 o'clock the police cleared the main room of the depot b lilding, 
and in a few moments the wounded President was borne through the building 
and placed in an ambulance, which was waiting on the outside. He bore the 
removal with great fortitude, never uttering any complaint or groan. The 
ambulance was surrounded by a cordon of police, and the horses were whipped 
into a gallop all the way to the White House. An excited crowd followed the 
ambulance on a run, but at the White House the crowd was stopped and none 
but a select few admitted. At the depot the pressure for admittance to the 
room in which the President was lying yvas so great that the police could not 
keep back the crowd. Men persisted that they must see -the President despite 
the surgeon's orders that the room and hallways must not be filled up. In this 
way the upper floor was filled to such an extent that fresh air could not be 
obtained for the wounded President, and it was determined to remove him 
immediately Lo the White House, where he could be well cared for. 



62 

'^At 12 o'clock there was no perceptible change in the President's condition. 
His pulse had gradually risen. The President lies on the bed, and speaks now 
and then. The physicians will not allow him to converse much. An exami- 
nation proved that the shot supposed to have taken effect in the arm did not 
touch the flesh. It merely went through the sleeve of the coat. There is no 
evidence of the spine having been injured by the effective ball; nor that the 
intestines or bladder are touched. 

A medical consultation will be held this afternoon at 3 o'clock, when a defi- 
nite opinion can be given by the physicians. The following will be at the consul- 
tation: Drs. Bliss, C. M. Ford, D. L. Huntington, U. S. A.; J. J. Woodward, 
U. S. A.; Smith Townshend, IST. S. Lincoln, Robert'Eeyburn, Surgeon-General 
Barnes. Basil IST orris, Surgeon-General Wales, U. S. I^._, andC. D. Patterson. 

While the President was lying at the depot, the following dispatch was sent: 

To Mrs. Garfield, Elberon, N. J.: 

The President wishes me to say to you from him that he has been seriously 
hurt. How serious he cannot yet say. He is himself, and hopes you will come 
to him soon. He sends his love to you. 

A. F. EOCKWELL. 

It may be remembered that when President Hayes was about to be inaugur- 
ated, a party from Chicago, named Myers, came here and threatened to assassi- 
nate him; but he was arrested by Detective McDevitt and locked up. 

It was almost impossible to learn accurate news of the President's condition, 
as stories of the most contradictory character were circulated. At 10 o'clock 
it became generally known that tlie President was not dead, and that there was 
a chance for his recovery. About fifteen minutes past ten o'clock there was a 
great commotion along the avenue. Word was passed from mouth to mouth 
with much greater rapidity than a horse could fly, that the Pr^'sident was being 
removed from the depot to the White House. Crowds rushed to the curb, and 
awaited the approach of the procession. First came the mounted policemen 
on a gallop, about sixty yards in advance of the police ambulance. In front 
and surrounding the ambulance were eight other mounted ofticers. The vehicle 
was drawn by a pair of grey horses, which, under the lash of the driver, went 
at fuU gallop up the south side of the avenue. Colonel Corbin, of the Adjutant 
General's Oflice, sat on the seat by the driver, and three or four men hung to 
the steps in the rear. Several physicians preceded the cavalcade in carriages.- 
and the rear was covered by four mounted officers. Tlie gates at the east en- 
trance of the White House grounds, south of the Treasury building, were 
thrown open as the ambulance approached, and the mournful procession en- 
tered. The crowds of people. on foot, who ran at full speed behind the escort, 
were prevented from entering the grounds by the closing of the gates, and 
policemen stationed at every entrance to prevent people from invading the 
grounds. The ambulance was driven to the south entrance of the building, and 
the wounded President was carefully carried to the north-west chamber on the 
second floor. 

Before Preside 't Garfield was taken from the depoi-, word was sent to the 
arsenal, and four foot batteries and a mounted detachment of a light battery, 
numliering in all about one hundred and fifty men, were ordered on duty. 
Some of the soldiers were statio'ied about the depot, and the others were sent 
to the White House grounds. 

A cheer was given from the waiting crowds on Fifteenth street as the sol- 
diers entered the grounds. The footmen stacked their gun^in front and to 
the east of the building, and sentries were detailed to patrol tlie grounds. The 
policemen at the gaites were very strict in prohibiting the admission of visitors. 
There were hundreds of people in front of the grounds. Men, women, and 
children clung to the iron pickets of tlie fence, and the approaches to the gates 
were surrounded by a crowd of people eagerly awaiting reports of the Presi- 
dent's condition. 

Eepresentatives of the press and prominent public men were a "mitted to the 
grounds, and as they returned from the Executive Mansion they Avere sur- 
■ rounded by the waiting crowds, and virtually compelled to tell all that they 
knew regarding the sufferer. 

Tliere were several ladies at the White House. Mrs. MacVeagh was informed 
of the attempted assassination as soon as the catastropliy occurred. She went 



63 

-at once to the White House, and personally supervised arrangemeiits for the 
President's reception before he wa"s removed from the depot. Mrs. Blame was 
also one of the first of the ladies to reach the Executive Mansion, bhe had 
not gone to the depot, and after hearing the sad news, did all that lay in her 
power to make the sufferer comfortable. Mrs. Hunt and Mrs. Wiiidom also 
visited the White House. All the members of the Cabinet were there, occupy- 
ing seats in the private office, awaiting reports of the physicians who were 
with the President. , ,.^ 

The news of the attempt upon the President's life was speedily communi- 
cated to the different foreign legations. Sir Edward Thornton, acccompanied 
by one of his secretaries, immediately cabled the English government news ot 
the event, and he afterwards went to the White House to ascertain the precise 
condition of the wounded President, and to express his deep sorrow at the sad 
event. The Japanese Minister, accompanied by an interpreter, was also among 

the early callers. , , . , ^, ^ ^i t-t ^^ j-i 

Attornev-Genernal MacYeagh, at 12 o'clock, said that the life of the 
President depended upon the course the ball had taken, and that no one could 
tell until after an examination had been uiade what the result would be. It 
the spine had been touched or the abdomen perforated, death would, m all 
probability, ensue. If the ball had pursued a harmless course, the President 
would recover. It was reported at the White House that General Garfield had 
expressed to those about him a determination not to die, and it was felt that 
his nerve and determination might do much to aid his recovery. 

On July 3, at 12:15 P. M.. the health officer received the following: "The 
President's condition greatly improved. He has secured sufficient refreshing 
sleep, and during his waking hours he was inclined to discuss passing topics. 
He is calm, with more full and softer expression. Pulse 106; temperature and 
respiration nor. ital." , ^ -, ... tt -i 

Dr. Bliss, at a quarter past twelve, was in the very best of spirits. He said 
that inflammation had not set in, and that the President's condition was re- 
markably favorable. Tlie physicians in attendance upon the President seem 
to be greatlv encouraged this morning by the favorable symptoms. Tiie Presi- 
dent slept fiVe hours during the night, and has taken nourishment. He has 
had a natural passage of urine. Dr. C. M. Ford, who has just left the Presi- 
dent, stated that the temperature and respiration were normal, and that they had 
reason to hope for the President's recovery, which was more than could be said 
at 9 o'clock last night. "The ball." said Dr. Ford, "has probably lodged m 
the liver. An abcess may form; but we can't tell much about it now. There 
are thirty-two cases on; record, during the war, where men were shot through 
the liver and recovered,' ' The physicians have decided to hold a consultation 
at seven o'clock this evening. ^ , , , ^-, 'n 4. 

At 10 o'clock this morning there was a more cheerful look on the faces at 
the White House than there had been since 10 o'clock yesterday morning. 
The members of tlie Cabinet all expressed themselves as very hopeful, and 
most of the physicians spoke cheerfully of the President's condition. He 
is improving every hour. Mrs. Garfield has been with him most of the morn- 
ing. She is weak, but bears up wonderfully. 

The crowd in front of the White House did not disappear altogether during 
the night. There were some people standing around the gates at all hours. 
This morning the crowd was of good numbers, but not as large as yesterday. 
At 10 o'clock Dr. Bliss issued the following bulletin : 

" The President has rested quietly and awakened refreshed. His improved 
condition gives additional hope of his gradual recovery. Pulse, 114 ; respira- 
tion, 18. and temperature, normal." 
At 11 :30 o'clock there was no perceptible change in the President s condition. 
The greatest danger to the President now is from inflammation which ^\\^J^ 
set in. The ball has not been removed, and will not be until he has gained 
considerably more strength than he now has. There is every reason to hope 
that the inflammation will not be great or dangerous. The passage from the 
bowels, which was natural, and of urine, are indications that the wound has 
not touched the intestines or the bladder. The wound is kept well sponged, and 
no precaution against inflammation is neglected. Said Dr. Bliss, at 11 o clock, 
-^' Everything is now favorable, and the symptoms gradually get better." 
Mrs. Garfield shows wonderful courage and endurance. She only took a very 



64 

short sleep last uight, and to-day was up early. She has been close by the Pres- 
ident since early this morning. She has a belief, which cannot be shaken, that 
the President will recover. 

The arrangements at the White House to-day are, under orders from the 
physicians, such as conduce to the most perfect quiet. They pronounce it as ab- 
solutely necessary that the patient should be kept entirely undisturbed. ISTo 
carriages are allowed in the grounds. Only a few people are admitted tlirough 
the gate, and fewer get inside the house. The people should understand this. 
There should be no fireworks to-morrow. 

The feeling throughout the District to-day is still intense, and the solicitude 
for the President's recovery and sympathy for himself and family is expressed 
in every direction by people of all parties, creeds and conditions. 

The crowds about the White House remained until 11 o'clock last night, 
when the house wa- closed and all Avere excluded except the physicians and at- 
tendants. At half-past ten the President again asked Dr. Bliss what the 
chances were. Dr. Bliss replied : "As I told you before, IVIi'. President,|I think 
your chance a good one, and has improved since you last questioned me." 

The President replied : " I told you, doctor, that I was going to take that 
chance." 

Secretary Blaine, at half-past ten, cabled our ministers abroad that at that 
hour the President's condition was improved, and that there was strong hope 
of his recovery. 

The President, a little before 11 o'clock, took some beef tea, which was the 
first nourishment he had received during the day. During the night his con- 
dition continued to improve. Mrs. Garfield remained as a constaiit attendant 
by his bedside. He fell asleep a little after 11 o'clock. The bulletins issued 
from the sick room occasionally were all of the most encouraging nature. The 
physicians consider the fact that the vomiting had ceased and the nourishment 
had been retained on his stomach, a most hopeful sign. 

Secretaries Lincoln, MacVeagh, Windom and James staid at the White 
House all last night. Mrs. Lincoln and Mrs. MacVeagh left at 1 o'clock, Mrs. 
James at 2, Mrs. Windom at 4, and Mrs.' Hunt at 5. 

Among the messages received at the White House were the following: 

E'ew York, July 2, 18S1. 
Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington, D. C. .• 

Your telegram, with its deplorable narrative, did not reach me promptly, 
owing to my absence. I am profoundly shocked at the dreadful news. The 
hopes you express relieve somewhat the horror of tlie first announcement. I 
wait for further intelligence with the greatest anxiety. Express to the Presi- 
dent and those about him my great grief and sympathy, in which the whole 
American people will join. C. A. Arthur. 

Later, in reply to an unfavorable telegram from Secretary Blaine, the Yice- 
President telegraphed as follows: 

New York City, July 2. 
Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretiry of State: 

Your telegram is very distressing. I still hope for more favorable tidings, 
and ask you to keep me advised. Please do not fail to express to Mrs. Garfield 
my deepest sympathy. C. A. Arthur. 

Governor's Island. 
Gen. W. T. Sherman, U. S. A., WasMngton, D. C: 

I trust that the result of the assault upon the life of the President to-day 
may not have fatal consequences, and that in the interest of the country the 
act may be shown to have been that of a madman. Thanks for your dispatch 
and.for your promise of further information. W. S. Han-cock. 

Elbbron, N. J. 
Secretary Lincoln, WasMngton : 

Please dispatch me the condition of the President. News received con- 
flicts. I hope the most favorable may be confirmed. /Express to the President 
my deep sympathy, and hope he may speedily recover. U. S. Grant. 



65 

To Sir E. Thornton: 

The Queen desires that you will at once express the horror with which she 
has learned of theattempt upon the President's life, aud her earnest hope for 
his recovery. Her Majesty wishes for full and immediate reports as to his con- 
(jition. Lord Granville. 

The news was received at the foreign office a little before 4 o'clock, and a 
message Avas immediately forwarded to Lord Granville at his private residence. 
He at once communicated it to the other members of the Cabinet, and to the 
Queen at Windsor, who was deeply moved by the startling intelligence. Dur- 
ing the afternoon Lord Granville called twice at the legation to inquire after 
the condition of the President . Later in the evening Minister Lowell received 
the following dispatch from Her Majesty : 

Sir Henry Ponsonhy, Windsor Castle, to His Excellency, Jfr. Lowell, United 
States J^^ifiistCT .* 

The Queen has heard with the deepest concern the report of an attempt hav- 
ing been made on the life of the President, and sincerely trusts that the rumors 
of his having been seriously wounded are untrue. Her Majesty would be glad 
to learn any news you may be able to give her. 

This dispatch was immediately communicated to the Secretary of State at 
Washington. 

London, July 3.— The following appears in this morning's Observer in dou- 
ble lead : " A most profound and sincere feeling of regret will be occasioned 
by the news we publish this morning of a dastardly crime of which the Presi- 
dent of the United States has been the victim. There is no evidence as yet 
that the attempted assassination comes under the category of political crimes. 
Mr. Garfield owes the attempt upon his life, in as far as is known, to the fan- 
cied grievance sustained by some dismissedfofficial. Regicide, however mon- 
strous in itself, is still an intelligible crime— that is, a crime for which it is 
possible to assign a motive; but to kill one President with the view of making 
room for another is an act of insane folly, as well as wickedness, which is 
hardly likely to be committed by any man in his senses. It is too early yet to 
form any opinion as to the President's chances of recovery, but our American 
kinsmen may rest assured that the intelligence from Washington will be 
awaited almost as eagerly by Englishmen as by the President's own fellow- 
countrymen." 

ExECLTTivE Mansion, July 4, 10:50 A. M. 

The physicians have succeeded in relieving the pain in tlie feet and legs of 
which the President this morning complained, and which was due to the in- 
jury of the nerves leading to the lower extremities. The symptom was not 
regarded as a dangerous one, but the pain, if allowed to continue, might act 
unfavorably by causing restlessness. The President's comlition in other re- 
spects has not changed since the date of the last official bulletin. He is now 
resting quietly, and his physicians continue to be cheerful and hopeful. 

The cheerful look of people and things at the White House yesterday did 
not last long into the night. The President took a turn for the worse about 
9 o'clock, and the bulletins grew less favorable. At the same time the phy- 
sicians talked less confidently. It was apparent that the President was sink- 
ing, and that the gravest fears were entertained. The house was closed to 
nearly everv one. The strictest quiet was observed. Every one was kept out 
of the President's room except Mrs. Garfield and the physicians. The Cabinet 
ministers sat around in the private secretary's room, talking now and then in 
quiet and low tones. Secretary Blaine said about 11 o'clock, "It looks 
worse." The Secretary showed his great anxiety in the effect upon his system . 
Attorney-General McVeagh and Postmaster-General James attended to the 
telegrams received or sent. 

The physicians say that while the President's case is much less hopeful he 
still has a chance for life. There were three stages through which the Presi- 
dent had to pass. First, the shock, next, the hemorrhage, and third, the 
inflammation. Through the first and second the President has safely passed. 
The tliird or inflammatory stage, which has now set in, was of course expected. 
It was expected also that when this stage was reached the President's condi- 
tion would not be as favorable. The President's will-power surprises even his 



m 



66 

physicians. He Ins made np his mind to live, and his strong recuperatory 
power and physique may yet pull him safely tlirough. 

Thus far, Mrs. Garfield bears up most heroically, notwithstanding the terri- 
ble ordeal through which she has passed and is passing; outwardly, slie holds 
herself with much composure. In all her conversation witla her stricken hus- 
band she whispers to him words of cheer. She has the firm conviction the 
President will live, a wish in which the country joins. Mrs. Blaine is con- 
stant in her attendance upon the President's wife. 

At 9 o'clock Yice-President Arthur called. He was accompanied by Sen- 
ator Jones, of Nevada, and came upon a note from Secretary Blaine that w^hile 
it would be impossible for the President to see him Mrs. Garfield would receive 
him, Mrs. Garfield was greatly affected by the interview, but did not give 
way to her emotions. The Vice-President spoke in earnest terms of his grief 
and great hope that the President w^ould recover, and tljat his administration 
would be a successful one. The interview did not last long. After it was 
over the Vice-1'resident returned to the room in which the Cabinet officers 
were sitting. He said : "I pray to God that the President will recover. God 
knows I do not want the place I was never elected to. " Everybody present was 
struck with the earnestness and sincerity of the Vice-President. 

Dr. Hamilton, of New York, and Dr. Agnew, of Philadelpliia, were sum- 
moned to Washington by telegraph. They are the two leading surgeons of the 
country- They arrived at 3:52 this morning. The run from Baltimore was 
made in forty minutes. 

About 3 o'clock the news from the sick room began to be a little brighter, 
but it did not carry much encouragement with it. The President, w^ho had 
been siiiking, was a little better. There was inflammation, which showed signs 
of tympanitis. It was thought by the physicians tliat the inflammation 
could be controlled. The pain which had existed in the feet was a little less. 

This morning about 7 o'clock there was a consultation, at which Drs. Agnew 
and Hamilton were present. Mrs. Blaine, who had been at the White House 
all night, was present at the consultation. The opinion after the consultation 
was that the President is in great danger— that his condition is very critical. 
But at the same tihie they think there is a possibility for him. 

One of the first callers this morning was Sir Edward Thornton. The crowd 
got around the White House gates at an early hour. They were very anxious 
for any information, and seized every one wiio came out. 

The first physician who had charge of the case after the shooting was Dr. 
Smith Townshend, who administered remedies, and soon afterwards Drs. 
Purvis and Bliss went to the depot, and the President was removed to the 
White House. Other physicians were subsequently summoned from time to 
time by the President's private secretary, and frequent consultation-; fol- 
lowed. These physicians consisted of Drs. Bliss, C. M. Ford. D. L. Hunting- 
ton, U. S. A.; J. J. Woodward, U. S. A.; Smith Townshend, N. S. Lincoln, 
Robert Reyburn, Surgeon-General Barnes, Basil Norris, Surgeon-General 
Wales. U. S. N., and C. D. Patterson. 

A consultation was held by those named at 3 o'clock yesterday, at which 
time a further consultation was fixed upon at 7 o'clock last evening. In the 
afternoon Dr. Bliss addressed a note to several of these physicians, among 
them Dr. Basil Norris. Dr. Wales, Dr. Lincoln and Dr. Townshend, inform- 
ing them that at the request of the President he wrote to advise them that his 
symptoms were at that time so favorable as to render unnecessary any further 
consultation mitil some change in his condition should seem to warrant it; 
concluding by thanking them most cordially for their kind attention and skill- 
ful advice, for whicli the President and family were deeply grateful. 

The hopeful feeling inspired last night by the bulletins of the physicians was 
changed this morning to one of grave anxiety. Reports from the sick room 
during tlie latter part of the night were of a gloomy character. The nation 
w^ent to bed encouraged to believe that the life of their stricken President 
would be spared. They awoke to hear news of the most distressing character, 
much dreaded symptoms having made their appearance during the night. 

The announcements made by the physicians tliis morning indicate an im- 
provement in the President's condition . His life now trembles in the balance . 
The people are watching eagerly the bulletins to catch some encouraging word, 
but the present hour is a dark one. 



67 

At 8:15 A. M., the condition of the President was not materially different 
from that reported in the last bulletin, (12:30 A. M.) He has dozed at intervals 
during tlie night, and at times has continued to complain of the pain in his 
feet. The tympanitis reported has not sensiblyincreased. Pulse, lOS; tem- 
perature, 99.4; respiration, 19. (Signed) D. ^Y. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. 
Woodward, Robert Key burn. Frank H. Hamilton, of New York; D. Hayes 
Agnew, of Philadelphia. 

We held a consultation with the physicians in charge of the President's case 
at 7 A. M. this morning, and approve in every p articular of the management 
and of the course of treatment which has been pursued. — Frank H. Hamilton, 
of Xew York; D. Hayes Agnew, of Philadelphia. 

In order that the President may be disturbed as little as possible, the physi- 
cians announce that the next buTletin will not be issued until 1 o'clock. 

The feeling of suspense which prevailed late last night among those at the 
Executive Mansion was relieved somewhat by the official bulletin issued this 
morning. This was plainly observable in the more hopeful expression of their 
faces afer reading the bulletin. Among others present when the bulletin 
came from the physicians, were Secretary Wi'ndom, Postmaster-General James, 
Attorney-General MacVeagh, General Swaim, Marshal Henry and Colonel 
Eockwell. Postmaster-General James particularly seemed more hopeful and 
expressed himself much more hopeful than he did at a late hour last night. 

Secretary Windom says he has never lost hope, but his anxiety last night at 
midnight was intense. He felt then that the case was extremely critical, but 
he has always believed that the President's courage, calmness of mind and 
great vitality would carry him through safely. "If,'" he says, "the injuries 
are to prove fatal, it seems to me that we should have had an increase of the 
dangerous symptoms of last night, instead of the slight improvement which 
we find this morning." 

The consulting physician. Dr. Agnew, of Philadelphia, at 10 o'clock to-day, 
said that while the President's wound was a dangerous one, it was not neces- 
sarily a mortal one. He has not given up by any means. He says while there 
is life there is hope. 

At 10:15 this morning the President's condition was very critical, as it has 
been since 10 o'clock last night. The physicians base their hope of recovery 
upon the condition of the pulse. If the pulse does not rise materially during 
the day they will have confidence imbued in them. If the pulse does rise the 
gravest fears will be entertained. It is only a thread that holds life. At any 
rate, the President is expected to be worse before he can be better. 

6. P . M.— No appreciable change since the last bulletin. The President sleeps 
well at intervals. Pulse, 108; temperature and respiration normal. 

10 P. M.— The condition of the President is less favorable. :| Pulse, 120; tem- 
perature, 100; respiration. 20. He is more restless, and again complains of 
the pain in his feet. 

10:50 P. M.— President's condition not'so favorable. Pulse gone up to 120. 

12:30 A. M.— The President's condition has changed very little since the last 
bulletin. Pulse, 112; temperature, 98.8; respiration, 20. Some tympanitis is 
recognized. Does not complain so much of pain in the feet. 

It appears that Mrs. Garfield, while on her way to Washington Saturday, 
having been summoned to the bedside of her husband, narrowly escaped serious 
injury. When about a mile and a half east of Bowie, one of the parallel 
rods of the engine broke while the special train was moving at a tremendous 
rate, and the railroad men state that only a miracle saved the train from being 
thrown from the track and wrecked. 

The medical history of the President's case when published will form a large 
volume. At least, it has been peculiar in many of its phases, and the circum- 
stances surrounding it have been unusual. A very careful record has been 
kept of observations made more or less frequently, according to the gravity of 
the symptoms, from the day of the shooting down to the present. The mam 
points which have been given tothe public are the pulse,temperature, and respir- 
ation, together with such general facts as the doctors saw fit to embrace m the 
bulletins, with more or less frequency everv day from the date of the shoot- 
ing, which took place at 9:20 A. M, on the 2d of July, the bullet which made 
the ugly wound being of 44 caliber, and striking the Presidenr, about four 
inches to the right of the spinal column. It struck the tenth and shattered the 



68 

eleventh rib very badly, having turned downward and forward in a direction 
which, at that time, it was impossible for the physicians to determine. 

The shock from tlie wound was so ^reat that the doctors in attendance have 
said that they never saw a man come so near dying from this cause and live as 
did the President the first day he was wounded. It seems that the first physi- 
cian to reach him at the depot was Dr. Smith Townshend, who made a slight 
examination of the wound, simply enough to determine Avhere the President 
had been shot. The alarm was given, an ambulance was procured, and he was 
driven hastily to the White House. The usual nervous effects of the severe 
shock followed the shooting, and the patient was affected with nausea, vomit- 
ing, and extreme prostration during the first day. He was so weak, indeed, 
that it was not until 5 o'clock in the evening of that day that his clothes 
were all removed, and he could be put in shape for the beginning of the treat- 
ment. It seems that the surprise and panic were so great at that time that 
there was no one to direct the medical operations, and, as the result, various 
Government physicians and leading surgeons Avho were in the city volunteered 
or were called in attendance, and a brief examination was made late in the 
afternoon of the shooting; but nothing was done to relieve the patient. 

The ball having entered over the liver, it seemed perfectly natural to the 
physicians that it had continued in a direct course, and passed through that 
organ; hence for some days it was confidently believed that the liver had 
been pierced; this, probablv, being one cause why the physicians despaired of 
the patient's recovery, and believed he would die at once. The only examina- 
tion to determine really what course the ball had taken, when the theory of its 
passing through the liver was correct, was made by Surgeon-General Wales, 
who thrust his little finger in the wound, and discovered tliat the tenth and 
eleventh ribs, more or less, were fractured. So low was he that night that one 
of the attendants reports when General Swaim proposed to clear the room and 
give the patient air, one of the attending physicians said: ''There is no use 
doing anything; there is the death-rattle in his throat now."' The General 
insisted, however, and the room was cleared. The Avindows were raised, and 
the patient did rally at 2:45 on the morning of the 3d. He was then able to 
take and retain a little nourishment. At that time, it was not known that the 
ball had been deflected downward by the rib, and had passed, as subsequently 
was shown, forward and around through the heavy muscular tissue, and had 
entered the peritoneal cavity. .,,„,■,. , -, -^ i 

In short, subsequent investigation showed that the ball nad touched no vital 
part, and the wound was of such a character as was not necessarily mortal. 
The large number of physicians who were in consultation the first day and the 
following morning formed a body of men too great for the convenient treat- 
ment of any patient, and I)r. Bliss was assigned it is said, by the President 
himself to take charge of the case, with authority to select his corps of advisers. 
This he did by choos'ing Surgeon-General Barnes, of the army; Dr. J. J. Wood- 
ward, also a medical officer of the army and a well-known and accomplished 
microscopist, and Robert Reyburn, a physician who had made a favorable rec- 
ord as a surgeon in Government institutions. All through the day of July 3d, 
the fluctuations of pulse, temperature, and respiration were of such a character 
that the case appeared to be very critical, and it was stiU feared by many that 
death was imminent. 

At 3 o'clock on the morning of the 3d, so serious did the matter appear 
that one of the level-headed of the Cabinet officers remarked: "Hope is dead.'' 
With so important a case as this, involving the life or death of tlie President 
of the United States, it.w^as not strange that the people of the country felt an 




surgeons of national reputation be employed to assist the corps m constant 
attendance, who had more special charge of the case, under the direction ot 
Dr. Bliss. The result was that Drs. Frank PI. Hamilton, of :New 1 ork. and 
D. Hayes Agnew, an eminent surgeon of Philadelphia, were telegraphed tor 
on the morning of the 4th. They started at once on a special tram, furnished 
by the Pennsylvania Central railroad, and arrived here on the afternoon ot the 
same day. Throughout the day of the 4th of July, and for several days suc- 
ceeding, the patient was troubled with excruciating pams in the lower limbs 



69 

and feet, which he himself descrihed as being " like the sticking of a million 
needles into liim." From this it was feared'that the spinal nerves had been 
in some way injured. Toward the night of the 4th, however, there was a 
turn for the better, and the patient was safely launched into the next day. 
Drs. Agnew and Hamilton returned immediately to their respective homes, 
and it transpires that the only knowledge they had of the case at that time was 
wiiat they had heard from the attending physicians, having made no personal 
examination. It was not until after the examination that Dr. Hamilton was 
told by Surgeon-General Wales that there had been a fracture of the ribs, and 
this only came to the knowledge of Dr. Agnew when told by his brother physi- 
cian upon the train as they were starting out of Washington toward Philadel- 
phia. An understanding of medical ethics, however, wiirexplaiu, in a measure, 
what might appear surprising circumstances in this connection. Dr. Bliss, 
with his three assistants, were.in charge of the case, and Drs. Agnew and Ham- 
ilton were„but the consulting physicians; they could only advise and approve, 
making suggestions when asked questions; but they could make for themselves 
no examination, and were not in a position to dictate anything as to the treat- 
ment of the patient. It is not surprising, therefore, that they knew only such 
points of the case as it had occurred to the physicians in charge to communi- 
cate to them. Whether the advice of such eminent surgeons as Agnew and 
Hamilton would have been different from what it was on that eventful occa- 
sion, had they known this important factor of the comminuted rib, with its 
attendant complications arising from spicula? of bone, it is, perhaps, impossible 
now to say. At that time very little was heard of the rib fracture; but much 
speculation was indulged in as to the locality of the ball. Whether it had con- 
tinued directly through the vital parts, had passed downward, or had passed 
forward and around through the integument, in course of a few days, became 
the all-absorbing question in the discussion of the physicians. On the morning 
of the 6th of July, the pulse, for the first time, fell as low as 98 in the morning, 
and only touched 104 in the evening, and upon the 7th, the leading physician 
in attendance declared "the chances are more than ever for his recovery.'' 

Previous to this time, they had said there was but one chance in a hundred, 
and, upon the President asking what his show for life was, was told this fact, 
when he quietly remarked if there was but one chance lie would take that 
chance. From the 7th to the 16th there was a slight improvement, and with 
that it was declared officially that the President Avas "on the road to convales- 
cence." Still, the doctors, on the 18th, reported, in reply to a question of Dis- 
trict Attorney Corkhill, that they "were not prepared to say recovery is cer- 
tain," and the case of the murderer was put over by the court on that account. 
On the 21st, it was confidently predicted "that the President would he up in 
two weeks" by the attending physicians; but, on the 23d, all of a sudden, there 
was a serious relapse of the most alarming character. He had rigors and chills 
and perspiration, which, to outside physicians, surely indicated that the patient 
showed symptoms of pytemia. 

Executive Mansion, 9:1-5 A. M., July 7.— The President has passed a most 
comfortable night and continues steadily "to improve. He is cheerful, and asks 
for additional food. Pulse, 94 ; temperature, 99.1 ; respiration. 23. There will 
be no further bulletin issued until 1 o'clock.— D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. 
J. Woodward, Piobert Eeyburn. 

10:45 A. M.— Attorney-General MacVeagh says the President's condition is 
very favorable, indeed. He does not consider that the President is out of dan- 
ger yet, but says he appears to be passing out of it as steadily and rapidly as 
can be expected. 

Noon.— Dr. Reyburn said at noon that the President was still improving. 
His pulse had gone down, and he was comfortable. His appetite was good. He 
had been given gruel this morning, and ate it with a relish, and retained it on 
his stomach. It is the inclination to grant the President's request for beef- 
steak. He will be given a little steak this afternoon. The President, this 
morning, asked for some oatmeal. 

Dr. Boynton, who attended Mrs. Garfield during her illness, arrived in the 
city this morning. He will be connected in an advisory capacity with the man- 
agement of the President's case. Dr. Boynton left Long Branch a few days 
ago for Ohio to atteu^ the President's uncle, who had been injured wbile pass- 
ing a railroad track in front of a locomotive. Dr. Boynton says that he did 



70 

not find the President in any better condition than he exi^ected, as he had been 
kept well-advised in the case. The President is very weak, he says, but also 
very comfortable. After he had been in the room some minutes, and had ex- 
amined the patient, the President said to him: ''Well, doctor, what do you , 
think ? " Dr. Boynton replied : ' ' I think you will get through all right.'" " I 
hope I will,'' the President answered. 

The condition of the President continues quite as favorable as this morning. 
Pulse, 100 ; temperature, 100.8 ; respiration, 23. Unless some unfavorable 
change should occur, no further bulletin will be issued until 8:30 P. M.— D. W. 
Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert Reyburn. , 

The heat of the day began to show on the President about 10 o'clock this 
morning. His pulse began to beat a little more rapidly, although he continued 
comfortable. At half -past 1 o'clock tlie pulse had increased six beats over this 
morning. The lieat affects the President just as it does every one else. About 
sundown it is thought that the pulse M'ill begin to fall again. 

2 30 P. M.— The "condition of the President lias remained substantially un- 
changed since the date of the last bulletin. The slight increase in pulse and 
temperature s'nce morning is said by the attending physicians to be only the 
natural fluctuation of the fever from morning until noon. The President has 
eaten chicken broth to-dav and expressed a strong desire about noon for toast 
and oatmeal with milk. The latter was given to him as probably the least ob- 
jectionable kind of the solid food which he seemed to crave. 

Dr. Bliss spoke more hopefully of the President's condition this afternoon at 
3 o'clock than ever before. The President's chances now are, he says, more 
than even. It has goue beyond the even line, and now he has the majority of 
chances in his favor. The ball, he says, went in on a level, struck a rib and 
deflected. It then went downward and struck the liver. ' ' My opinion is, ' ' he 
continued, " that the ball went through the liver and is now lodged against the 
anterior wall of the stomach. It was a very fortunate deflection. It made a 
good wound of it. There was very little discharge from the wound. We have 
no fear of an abscess. Even if one should form, we would make it feed itself. 
The only dangers are from secondary hemorrhage and blood poison. The time 
for the first to show itself is now nearly over, and there is no sign of it. There 
is no sign of either. The President is a most admirable patient. Everything 
we tell him to do he does without any trouble at all. Even in the slightest de- 
tail he obeys all our instructions. We gave him to-day a little oatmeal gruel 
and some chicken broth. We did not want to give him the gruel, but he was 
very anxious to have it. The reason we did not like to give him oatmeal was 
because at this stage we did not care about putting any glucose matter in his 
stomach. He is in excellent condition and gains every hour. He wants to 
talk about official business, but we will not let him. He said once that certain 
District matters were constantly on his mind, and he wanted to get rid of them, 
but we told him they were matters of very little importance and to let them 
pass. His will-power and vitality are wonderful." Dr. Bliss said, in as many 
words, that if the President got through four days more the great danger was 
passed. He inspired those standing around him with a feeling that the Presi- 
dent's condition justified the brightest hopes. 

During the past twenty-four hours the President has continued to improve 
slowly. As was anticipated, a slight rise of temperature and slight increase 
in the frequency of the pulse occurred during the afternoon and evening. At 
8:30 P, M„ the pulse was 104, temperature, 100.6; respiration, 23. But in ac- 
cordance with this liiurnal movement both pulse and temperature were again 
diminished tliis morning, and showed some improvement over yesterday at the 
SEJine hour. At 9 A. M. the pulse was 94, temperature, 99.1 ; respiration, 23. 
We anticipate, of coarse, a similar movement for some days to come, and so 
to-day find at 1 p. m. the pulse, 100; temperature, 100.8; respiration, 23. Last 
evening at 9.30 P. M., a quarter of a grain of morphia sulphate was adminis- 
tered hypodermically and the President slept very well during the night. In 
addition to the chicken broth and albumen, he had yesterday a small quantity 
of scraped beef-tenderloin, which, however, he did not relish very much. This 
morning he is taking oatmeal gi'uel and milk at intervals of two hours with 
relish, Yellowishness of the skin, so common after Wjounds of the liver, de- 
veloped to a slight degree during the day yesterday, bu" is not more marked 
this morning. We do not attach a great deal of importance to this symptom, 



71 

except so far as to confirm the opiniou already formed of the nature of the 
wound. Altogether we feel that the patient has done as well as could reasona- 
bly be expected up to the present time, and our hopes of his ultimate recovery 
are strengthened by the events of the last two days. — D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, 
J. J. Woodward, Kobert Eeyburn. 

Executive Makston, Jiih/ 8, 1881, 12:30 P. M.— The progress of the Pres- 
ident's case continues to be favorable. Pulse, 108 ; temperature, 101.4 ; respi- 
ration, 24.— D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robt. Reyburn. 

1 p. m. — The President's condition has not changed materially since our tele • 
gram to you yesterday. During the afternoon and evening he was again trou- 
bled with acrid eructations, and the administration of nutrients was again sus- 
pended for several hours. 

One-quarter of a grain of morphia Avas administered hj-podermically at 8:30 
P. M., and followed at once by tranquil sleep. Towards midnight, however, 
he became restless and complained a good deal of muscular soreness in the feet 
and of pain in the ankle joint, so that we were on the point of administering 
an additional anodyne, when he fell asleep, and on awakening was so free from 
pain that it was not given. After 1 A. M. he passed the night tranquilly, 
sleeping composedly much of the time. At intervals since, that hour he has 
taken an ounce of the alburaenized chicken broth, alternating with au ounce of 
milk, to wliich a teaspoonful of very old and excellent rum was added. All 
this has been retained, as well as five grains of sulphate of quinia taken this 
morning at 8 o'clock. The yellowish tinge of the skin mentioned in our last 
telegram has sensibly diminished. When the antiseptic dressing was renewed 
this morning, the wound was found to be discharging a small quantity of 
healthy looking pus. The reaction accompanying the establishment of sup- 
puration is as might be expected, marked by a slight rise of temperature and 
pulse as compared with the corresponding hours of yesterday. This, however, 
we do not regard as unfavorable under the circumstances, and should not be 
surprised if it continued through this afternoon and was repeated in the after- 
noon and evening for several days. The record since our last telegram is as 
follows: Yesterday at 8:30 P. M., pulse, 106; tempertaure. 100.8; respiration, 
23. This morning at 8:30, pulse, 96; temperature, 99.2; respiration, 23. At 1 
P. M. pulse, 108; temperature, 101.4; respiration, 24.— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Wood- 
ward, J. K. Barnes, Robt. Reyburn. 

Executive Mansion, July 9, 8:30 A. M.— The President has passed a 
tranquil night, and this morning expresses himself as feeling quite comfort- 
able. We regard the general progress of his case as very satisfactory. Pulse 
this morning, 100; temperature, 99.4; respiration, 24. — D. W. Bliss, J. K. 
Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert Reyburn. 

The President's wound was dressed last night about 9 o'clock. The 
dressing precedes his preparations for the night. About 9 o'clock the Presi- 
dent said: ''Where is Bliss? '" "Here," replied the doctor, who was by the 
bed. " Bliss, I am tired," he says; "don't you think you had better put me in 
my little bed '? " The patient was then prepared for the night, and was soon 
taking a short and peaceful nap. He slept very well during the night. The 
cool atmosphere made his periods of rest longer than usual. 

There was a further discharge from the President's wound this morning. 
About two ounces of pus was discharged. Dr. Bliss said that it was a very 
healthy pus. Following healthy discharges of this kind from gunshot wounds 
is the healing process. If the President's condition continues as favorable as 
it now is - with the steady improvement going on— it Avill not be very long, it 
is expected, before the wound begins to heal. The improvement in the Presi- 
dent's condition this morning was more marked than at any time heretofore. 

IP. M.- The condition of tile President continues favorable. Pulse, 104; 
temperature, 101.2; respiration, 22. The next bulletin will be issued at 8 P. 
M.— D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robt. Reyburn, 

The President's pulse was lower at 1 o'clock to-day than at the same time 
yesterday. It is cooler to-day for one thing, and the President is not so fe- 
verish. 

Dr. Eeyburn said this afternoon at 2 o'clock: " The President's condition is 
better now than it was at the same hour yesterday. His pulse is better and 
his temperature lower. He has also eaten more to-day than yesterday. " 



72 

I 

There were not rpore than a dozen people, outside the clerical force at the 
White House, who M'ent there to-day. EarljHhis morning, Mrs. Garfield went 
out for a long ride with Mrs. Blaine and Mrs. Hunt. She looks very well and 
strong, though apparently somewhat careworn. Contributions for the Presi- 
dent's comfort come in from all sides. One was a dish of nicely-cooked wood- 
cock. Very few telegrams were received or sent off. The physicians going in 
and out of the sick room give only the very best news of the President's condi- 
tion; their words usually were: " He is in the most favorable condition, and is 
getting better all the time." The President is to-day given a little milk and 
old rum every two hours, and gruel now and then. His room this morning 
was very cool. 

Vice-Prepident Arthur called at Mr. Brown's room and'remauied about fifteen 
minutes. He asked about the President, and expressed a desire to see Mrs. Gar- 
field. He could not see her, as slie was out riding. Dr. Bliss was sent for, and a 
conversation between him and the Vice-President followed. The latter expref?sed 
his gratification at the President's improved condition. Shortly after he left the 
house Mrs. Garfield returned from her drive. All anxiety about the Wliite House 
has disappeared upon the improvement of the President and the more than hope- 
ful assurance of the physicians. The President's son James and Colonel Rock- 
well's son were bnsy this afternoon making a balloon in tlie aute-rooni. 

Of course, the President can sign no papers, nor even talk about official busi- 
ness. Last Friday he signed a lot of blanks for appointments of postmasters, and 
left them with Mr. Brown. This was necessary on account of tlie daily changes 
among so large a class of ofiicers. His intention was to direct, away from the 
city, as the necpssity arose, the filling of these blanks with names that should be 
agreed upon. These blanks are now being utilized for the appointment business 
of the Post Ofllce Department. The Postmaster-General, when it is necessary to 
make an appointment, notifies the White House, and a blank is filled out. This 
is the only business of an executive character that is now or has been transacted 
since last Saturday morning. 

Among the articles which arrived were several Houkah fans. They came from 
Philadelphia. They are just like the common palm-leaf palm, only about seven 
times larger. About 11 o'clock the fire-engines, which were ordered out to assist 
the cooling operations, were at the east of the house, down the area, to-day. No 
apparatus has yet been used in the President's room; The Jennings apparatus 
has been working some, but the air from it being a little damp the process has 
not been finally completed. This plan consists of foi-cing air through pipes over 
a chamber filled with ice, and then drying it. The heating pipes of the house are 
used to conduct the air to the room where desired. It comes into the room through 
the register. When tried this morning in General Swaira's room the register was 
found to be a little damp. Damp air is not wanted in the sick room. Mr. Jen- 
nings says he will soon have the process perfected. The other process being 
perfected is that of Mr. Dorsey, which is simply the compression and expansion of 
air. Air is forced into a chamber until it is compressed to one-eighth its original 
volume, and then expanded by release from its confined quarters. The air goes 
through pipes to where it is wanted. The motive power for forcing the air for 
both of tliese processes is furnished by the fire department engines. 

This afternoon a load of machinery arrived from the navy yard to be used in 
connection with the Dorsey plan for cooling the President't room. Small engines 
are also being put in place outside the house. There will be no necessity for the 
fire department engines for either aparatus. as soon as the engines are got in 
working order, which will be'sometime this afternoon. 

A prominent physician of Washington makes the suggestion that a careful 
examination of every particle of the clothing worn by the President and pene- 
trated by the ball should be made to ascertain if any portion is missing. This 
examination should be made with a powerful glass that will detect the absence of 
any fiber, and show wliether any scrap or patcli has been carried into the wound. 
Bits of cloth are much more dangerous substances to be lodged in the body than 
lead bullets. The old-fashioned round ball was much more apt to carry portions 
of the clothing into a wound than the modein conical ball, such as was used by 
Guiteau; still the latter does very often take bits of fiber with it, and it should be 
ascertained definitely whether or not it did in this case. It is not unlikely that 
such examination has been made, but as no mention has been made of the fact, if 
it has been done, it is thought proper to make this suggestion. 




''^'^i^^Mf'/'i^'' ■■■ 




73 

The room occupied by the President, according to an old attache of the Execu- 
tive Mansion, has always been used by the Presidents. General Taylor, who died' 
in the Executive Mansion, occupied the room during the winter, but as was the 
custom always removed to the northwest chamber for the summer, and he died 
there on the 9th of July, 1850. Except for its closer proximity to tlie street this 
room would be much more desirable and cooler for the President now. During 
the visit of the Prince of Wales, in Buchanan's term, he occupied this northwest 
room, and it was afterwards called the state bed-room. Daring Lincoln's admin- 
istration it was newly furnished, the bedstead being magnificently carved, the 
work of a Boston firm. The first to occupy the room was General Burnside, on 
the night when, against his personal wishes, he had to take command of the forces 
after General McClellan was recalled. Tlie room adjoining the President's, into 
which it was reported he had^, been removed, is one of the handsomest in tlie man- 
sion, and during Buchanan's term was occupied by his niece, Miss Harriet Lane 

July 10. — The few persons admitted to see the President yesterday were par- 
ticularly impressed with the improved appearance of his face. When Colonel Rock- 
well went in to see him he found that his color was more natural than at any time 
since he was shot. The President manifested a disposition to talk a great deal, 
and the doctor in attendance had to caution him about it, and the danger if per- 
sisted in. While Colonel Rockwell was with him the President said: "Rockwell, I 
hear that the Catholics iiave been saying masses for my recovery; is it true?" ''It 
is," responded Colonel Rockwell. "Were they spontaneous or ordered?" asked 
the President. "Both," said Rockwell. "Well," said the President, "when I get 
up, I must make some recognition of this." 

Mrs. Garfield is exceedingly confident of the President's recovery, and will not 
look on the dark side at the bare possibilities. She telegraphed herself for Dr. 
Boynton, in whom she feels great confidence, and his presence has increased her 
confidence in the President's recovery. Since the arrival of Dr. Boynton Mrs.. 
Garfield has been greatly relieved, and site no longer hesitates to leave her hus- 
band's bedside and take rides in the open air. 

Dr. Boynton i^ in constant attendance on the President, and at Mrs. Garfield's 
request will remain at the White House during the critical period, and if the Presi- 
dent sufficiently recovers will yccompany him to such place as may seem most 
desirable for his complete restoration to health. 

Dr. Pomerine, surgeon of General Garfield's old regiment, and for some years 
Surgeon- General of Ohio, came here promptly on hearing of the shooting 
of the President, expecting that he might be of some service. He was 
taken in to the President by Mrs. Garfield, but was very quickly invited to leave 
by the physician in attendance, and of course complied with the request, although 
feeling keenly the discourtesy, not to s:iy rude treatment accorded him. He 
returned to Oiiio a sadder man, and wondering how the President's regular physi- 
cian could be so unmercifully thrust aside and all his rigiits ignored. 

Surgeon- General Wales, in conversation yesterday with the Secretary of the 
Navy, cived a case, well authenticated, of a wound of the abdomen from buck- 
shot, where the patient exhibited favorable symptoms, and where the temperature 
and pulre became perfectly normal, and yet death ensued on the eighteenth day. 
If the diagnosis it the physicians is correct, two threat dangeis now attend the 
President — secondary hemorrliage and pya?mia. It is well known to the medical 
profession that a persors may die of peritonitis with the tenipeiaSiure even below 
that whi< h has been recorded from day to day in the President's case. 

The propriety of suriQuuding the President's bed with cold wet sheets and 
blankets suspended has been severely criticised medically, and in consequence- 
they were quickly remc^ved. 

The scenes at the White House last night presented a wide contrast with those 
of a week ago. There were but few lights burning in the official part of the build- 
ing. Private Secretary Brown's office was the rendezvous for the newspaper cor- 
respondents. During the evening all of the Cabinet officers called, some of them 
accompanied by their wives. By 11 o'clock all the members of the Cabinet had 
gone for the night except Secretary Blajne, who, with his son, remained a half 
hour later. Each one seemed pleased with the parting intelligence they had 
received from the attending physicians. Dr. Reyburn came out of the sick room 
about 11:15 P. M. and immediately was surrounded by a flock of reporters, and ia 
answer to his question of "What is the latest news from the President?" Dr, 
Reyburn replied: "The President is resting quietly at present, and seems much 
6 



74 

refreshed by the sleep from which he has just awoke. On wakuig he complained 
of a heavy feeling, accompanied by an acute pain in his limbs. The President 
said: 'If t could get rid of these pains in my legs I would rest easier.' " "I thought 
all the pain had left his limbs, doctor," put in a scribe." "Oh, no !" said the 
doctor, "not entirely. There will be an unpleasant feeling in liis legs for some 
time to come." And after saying good-night to all present the doctor left for his 
home to take a muelvneeded rest. Dr. Bliss came out of the sick room and was 
soon joined by District Attorney Corkhill, who came in about 10 o'clock. They 
took seats neartiie window overlooking the river — and the malarial flats— and were 
engrossed in earnest conversation, during wliich the Bliss-Baxter controversy was 
discussed. Dr. Bliss thinks Dr. Baxter overstepped the bounds of professional 
etiquette by the manner in which he addressed him. 

The interview between Colonel Corkhill and Dr. Bliss lasted almost an hour. 
It seemed like a week to some of tlie members of the press who were waiting to 
get a word from the doctor. 

An innocent-looking young man advanced and said : " T am a representative of 
the New York Herald'.'''' The doctor replied : "Well, sir, we don't think much 
of the New York Herald here. It pretends to know more about the President's 
condition than the attenaing physK.-ians. Now, if the New York Herald thinks it 
will gain anything by mud-throwing let it keep on. It has been said that we are 
representing the case to be more serious than it really is. Now, such accusations 
are unjust and unkind." Here a messenger brought from the consultation room 
an anatomical plate, and Dr. Bliss explained to Colonel Corkhill the supposed 
course of the ball. All present in the room gathered around the desk and listened 
attentively to his lucid explanation. 

About 11 o'clock Dr. Bliss went into the sick room, where he and Dr. Wood- 
ward kept watch during the night. At this time the President was sleeping qui- 
etly, with his pulse, respiration and temperature about the same as at the time of 
the previous bulletin. The workmen were engaged all night at the eastern end 
of the building trying to get the ventilating apparatus in working order in case of 
extreme warm weather. They were lighted in their work by a huge locomotive 
reflector. By 12 o'clock the house was shut up for the night, and the waiting 
crowd outside were informed that there would be no more bulletins until morn- 
ing, owing to the favorable condition of the President. 

Major Swaim, in conversation with a group of gentlemen last evening, said that 
the Presidt'ut had told him that he at times had been very despondent, but that 
he had fought strenuously against his feelings and had conquered, and his re- 
coverj^ was now only a question of time. Major Swaim said : •' Mr. President, 
the people, with one accord, are in sympathy with you." The President replied : 
" Yes ; but it is a V' ry sore heart." 

The basement of the Executive Mansion is gradually assuming tlie appearance 
of an extensive machine shop or of a model-room in the Patent Office. Every 
hour adds to the number of engines, ventilating fans, steam-blowers, electric 
motors and refrigerating mechanical devices, which sanguine inventors from all 
parts of the country are bringing in and offering to the attending surgeons, with 
assurances that they will lower the temperature of the President's room from ten 
to thirty degrees. From the ba.sement, near the main entrance, comes faintly the 
hum and hiss of an engine and boiler taken from a steam launcli at the navy 
yard, and Irought here to run a blower or fan which is forcing artificially cooled 
air, or, to speak more correctly, air which is supposed to be artificially cooled, 
into tlie President's chamber. At the eastern end of tlie Mansion lies a large iron 
boiler, which is shortly to be brought in and set up to furnish more power, and 
near it stands one of th.e city fire engines, which was used last night in an unsuc- 
cessful attempt to refrigerate air by alternate compress-ion and expansion. In the 
Cabinet officei^s' room stands a meclianical device, whic'i resembles as much as 
anything one of the wooden towers on wheels used in ancient warfare, and which 
is regarded by tliose who are compelled to pass it with a sort of suspicious appre- 
hension, as if it were an infernal machine of undefined but destructive power. In 
the lower hall an apparatus, which looks a little like an old-fashioned sign-post 
from a country cross-road, is rotating slowly on an axis formed by its upright 
shaft, sweeping its one arm in a wide circle lilfe a capsized and half-dismantled 
windmill. In the private secretary's room and the upper corridors may be seen 
air-cooling machines of all sorts, from what appears to be a Brobdigagnian squir- 
rel-ti'ap with a revolving cylinder to a contrivance for carrying an endless band 



75 

of Turkish towelinoj through a tank of ice water. Most of these machines have 
already been tried and condemned. They would be adequate, perhaps, in a 
small room, but in a room of the dimensions of the President's chamber they have 
no perceptible effect. Various and often paradoxical reasons are assigned by the 
proprietors of these machines for their failure to produce the required refrigera- 
tion. One inventor this afternoon, after loading his apparatus with a hundred 
poimds or more of ice and setting it in operation, and after watching vainly in 
perspiring anxiety for the expected current of cool air, explained to the by- 
standers that his machine generally raised the temperature three or four degrees 
in the beginning, but that this would be followed by intense refrigeration. Tlie 
first part of his statement was generally accepted as true, but the last part still 
awaits verification. Thus far only one of the many fanning and ventilating ma- 
chines which have been tried has seemed to be really useful and valuable, and 
that is a two-bladed brass screw like a steamer's propellor, which is whirled at a 
very high rate of speed by an electric motor, and which throws a strong, steady 
stream of air to a distance of twelve or fifteen feet. Unfortunately, the electric 
motor makes a loud, continuous hum, which, in the judgment of the attending 
surgeons, would interfere with the President's rest. Its use has therefore been 
discontinued. Although all the machines hitherto tried have failed, partially or 
totalljs to meet the requirements of the case, too much cannot be said in acknowl- 
edgment and praise of the cheerful readiness of inventors in all parts of the coun- 
try to put themselves to trouble and expense in coming here with devices which 
they hope will alleviate the President's discomfort and contribute to his recovery. 
Most of them have been actuated by the sinceiest motives of sympathy and regard 
lor the President, and many have expressly requested that, whether their ma- 
chines were useful or not, no mention should be made of their names. A score or 
more of men cheerfully and eagerly volunteered to work all of last night in set- 
ting up refrigerating and ventilating machinery merely that they might do what 
lay in their power to add to the President's comfort. 

4 P. M. — The President has been more comfortable to day than at any time 
since he was wounded. His children were permitted to see him this morning, and 
the attending physicians report at 4 P. M. that he is improving satisfactorily. 
Kone of the sj^stems of artificial rt-frigeration thus far tried have entirely met the 
sanguine anticipations of their inventors and suggestors, but as the weather con- 
tinues reasonably cool, the President has not sutt'ered much from the heat since 
Thursday. Experiments are still being made with refrigerating apparatus in 
anticipation of a return of the liot weather, which is predicted by General Hazen. 

7.15 P. M. — The President's condition has continued favorable during the day. 
The febrile reaction does notdift'er materially from that of yesterday. Pulse, 108 ; 
temperatui-e, 101.9; respiration, 24. — D, W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, 
Robert Reyburn. 

There is beirinning to be considerable doubt whether the original diagnosis of 
the President's wound did not make it more alarming than it really was. The 
New York Herald in a leading editorial (and leaders in such cases, though written 
by laymew, are almost sure to represent high professional authority) boldly says: 
"We have interpreted all this as the evidence that the man was less seriously hurt 
than had been apprehended, for we were more disposed to believe tiiat a surgeon 
was at fault in his diagnosis than that the ordinary operations of nature were set 
aside for this occasion;" and goes at length into its reasons for refusing to believe 
that the ball penetrated the liver or entered the abdominal cavity. It quotes Sur- 
geon-General William A. Hammond, retired, as remarking upon yesterday's bul- 
letin : " That would indicate a slight fever, but nothing more than would result 
from a flesh wound, if the President continues over Sunday as he is now I see no 
reasoii why he should not recover. Ii after seven davs tliere is no fever, no inflam- 
mation, nor any of the symptoms that would indicate the presence of the bullet in 
the abdomen, the chances are a thousand to one it is not there. I don't believe it 
is. I think the diagno-is has been wrong from tiie beginning. I don't believe the 
ball passed tLrough the liver, and I don't believe it is in tlie abdomen. There has 
been no wound in the liver nor any of the peritoneum. I think the bullet struck 
the ribs and probably the thick muscles in the side and then glanced off. It will 
be found in the small of the back or maj^ be lower down. Judging by the report 
bulletined from the White House the President is not so well as he has been since 
the shooting, still there is not much difference nor much cause for alarm in his 
condition. Up to this we have been going on the theory supplied us that the ball 



76 

passed through the liver; now we are almost confident it did nothing of the kind." 
Dr. Faneuil D. Weisse, professor of practicg.1 and surgical anatomy in the 
medical department of the university of the city of New York, has, for several 
days past, been engaged in making some experiments upon a cadaver with a view 
to ascertaining the probable course pursued by the bullet in the President's body. 
A reporter of the Times called upon the professor at his office on West Twenty- 
second street Friday evening and found him quite well pleased with the result 
of his experiments thus far. 

"Since the shooting of the President," said the professor, "or rather after tlie 
first forty -eight hours after the shooting, being deeply interested in the case, I had 
evolved a theory which seemed to be strengthened day by day as the case pro- 
gressed. I determined to make some observations by special dissections in the 
region involved by the wound. The results of my dissections were such that they 
seemed to confirm or at least giv<i some weight to my theory. I then called upon 
Dr. Hamilton and asked him to give me a statement of the exact condition of the 
President at the time he visited him. The facts obtained from the doctor went 
still further towaid corroborating my theory, and this afternoon, at 2 o'clock, 
Dr. Hamilton came to the medical department of the university, accompanied by 
Dr. George F. Shrady, editor of the Medical Record, and several other physicians. 
The demonstrations occupied nearly four hours, and their oVject was to prove, if 
possible, the truth of my theory. Tliree cadavers were used, each one as nearly 
as possible of the size and weight of the President. The dissections were very 
successful. Drawings were made from the nature of the region of the wound, 
and they will be published soon in a medical journal. Several days ago I obtained 
a revolver said to be of the same make as that used by Guiteau, in order to practice 
with it as to its penetrating power. My first theory was that ihe cartridge fired at 
the President was defective, but when I came to see and handle the weapon I 
realized that it is not efi'ective at short range. I fired repeated shots at the cadaver, 
and found that wherever the ball struck a bone it did not go through the body, 
but where no bones were struck the bullet went straight through. Where the ball 
struck a rib it would be deflected. The bullet is said to have entered the Presi- 
dent's body four inches to the right of a medium line of the back, striking the 
eleventh rib. This is a movalile rib, and the effect of s*^riking it was to diminish 
the force of the missile, as well as to deflect it. If tlie ball stri^ck a convex surface 
it would naturally be deflected downward, because it is nntural for the rib to rise 
upon being crowded forward. In the proirress of my experiments it was deter- 
mined that the planes through which the ball passed to reach the eleventh rib 
were skin, subcutaneous tissue, a broad, flat muscle known as the latissimus dorsi 
and serratus posticus, inferior muscle. The nerves between the ribs (intercostal) 
and vessels being removed from the cadaver by cutting through the plane of the 
external intercostal muscle exposed the costa or external layer of the pleura. The 
costal layer of the pleura was then separated from the eleventh rib, after which 
the bone forces cut out an inch of the rib, which was the probable seat of the 
fracture. In so doing the pleural cavity of the cadaver was opened and from it 
fluid flowed out. The finger inserted in the cavity of the pleura determined the 
wound as reaching the twelfth rib, rising posteriorily to the spinal column and 
anteriorily to the eleventh rib, springing from the tip of the twelfth rib. The 
diaphragmatic layer of the pleura being cut off" determined the muscular structure 
of the diaphragm, and the latter being removed brought into view the peritoneal 
lining of the diaphragm. This, being opened, presented the liver to view. ]!now, 
the point that I make is that the hall could n(>t Isave penetrated the liver without 
passing through the pleura and wounding the peritoneum, and I do not believe the 
peritoni-um was wounded at all." 

"You are convinced, then, that the liver was not touched ?" "Very nearly 
convinced. I see a great many more reasons for thinking it was not wounded 
than theie are reasons for believing that it was. The pains of which the President 
complained in his legs and feet were undoubtedly caused by an injury to the 
sciatic nerve. In brief, the ball, striking the eleventh rib, was deflected down- 
ward. It may or it may not have opened the lower portion of the pleura. It 
reached the anterior surface of the quadratus lumborum muscle, tracked through 
the fat on its surface without wounding ^he peritoneum, wounded the ilio hypo- 
grastric and ilio ingr.inal nerves distributing to the skin of the scrotum. Hence 
the pain and soreness of the skin of the scrotum. Continuing on its course, the 
ball reached the surface of the illiacus internus muscle, passing through the 



77 

substance of or below tbe proas magnus muscle and lodged upon the lumbosacral 
cork of the sacral plexu-, or even beyond that chord upon the sacral plexus. That 
the leash of the nerveg forms the contributing nerve trunks, which in turn form 
the sciatic nerve. This nerve leaves the lower abdominal cavity, passing down the 
back of the thigh, distributing to the muscles of the leg and foot; hence the 
immediate pain in the President's right leg and foot, and the tingling, the cramps, 
the subsequent soreness and numbness which were due to the pressure of the 
ball. The bullet probably remains there, pressing upon tliis origin of the 
sciatic nerve. Therefore, the sensitiveness of the patient's lower extremities 
continues. The immediate fall of the President when wounded, together with 
the occurrence of vomiting, are symptoms of injury co the nerves." 

"Is there any safe way of getting the bullet out under the present circum- 
stances?" 

"I presume the bullet had, better be let alone for the present. I do not want to 
say anything about treatment, however, but I am satisfied the bullet can be felt. 
A finger insinuated in the dissected body upon the sacral plexus can be felt by 
another finger inserted into the rectum, and the bullet in the President's body is 
undoubtedly on the sacral plexus." 

Executive Mansion, July 12, 8 A. M. — The President is comfortable this 
morning. The rise of temperature noted in last evening's bulletin began to dimin- 
ish about an hour later. Pulse, 96; temperature, 99.6; respiration, 22. — D. W. 
Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. VYoodward, Robert Reyburn. 

Mr. Brown, the President's secretary, this morning sent the following note to 
the members of the Cabinet. !t explains what was thought last evening to be aa 
unfavorable change in the President's condition : 

"The unfavorable symptoms which made their appearance yesterday afternoon 
have entirely subsided. The President passed a very comfortable, restful night, 
and this morning his pulse is 96 and temperature 99.6. This would seem to indi- 
cate that the increased pulse and temperature of last evening was merely a tem- 
porary fluctuation, due, as the surgeons supposed at the time, to some momentary 
tax upon his nervous system rather than to any permanent unfavorable change 
in his condition. — J. S. Brown, Private Secretary." 

1 P. M.— The President is passing a comfortable day. Pulse, 100 ; temperature, 
100.8; respiration, 24.— D. W. Bliss, J. K. Birnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert 
Reyburn. 

The President'- condition at half-past one this afternoon was much better than 
at the same time yesterday. The President was very cheerful ; the physicians 
equally so. One of the attending ph5'sicians is constantly by his side. His appe- 
tite to-day has been better than since the shooting. Every two hours the Presi- 
dent is given three ounces of milk with a small dram of rum. Tills morning he was 
given a slice of milk toast. All of this he retains on his stomach. He seemed to 
enjoy the toast. The color of the President's skin is perfectly natural, and the 
skin cool. 

The usual amount of pus was discharged from the President's wound today. 
It was of a healthy character. Although the President was so weak ■\t 2 o'clock 
this afternoon that he could only raise his head with difficulty all the physicians 
agree in the opinion that he is in an imoroved condition. 

Dr. Bliss at this hour — 2 P. M. — reports that the President's condition has been 
steadily improving ever since morniiig. The transient increase in pulse and tem- 
perature last night was only a natural fluctuation of the fever and not an indication 
of any unfavorable change. The President is better in every way this afternoon 
than at the corresponding hour yesterday, and he ha^ not a symptom which need 
cause uneasiness. His pulse at 2 p. m. is only 96, and although he has taken no 
anodyne since yesterday, he is now sleeping a quiet, natural sleep. The atmosphere 
of his room is still maintained by the refrigerating apparatus in the basement at 
the steady temperature of 75 degrees, which the President finds most comfortable. 

The surgeons who have charge of th6 President's case, even in the excitement 
of the first hours, recognized the intense desire of the people to get information, 
and they arranged to issue frequent bulletins showing the state of the pulse, tem- 
perature and respiration. These bulletins have been most eagerly watched for 
throughout the whole civilized world. The use of technical terms in the bulletins 
could not be avoided, especially when the necessity of condensation, in order that 
they might be quickly prepared and frequently issued, is taken into consideiation. 



78 

It is but natural that very many persons should be unfamiliar with these tech- 
nical terms, and with the view of rendering tiie bulletins intelligible to all, the 
surgeons accompanied the figures showing temperature, pulse and respiration 
with a brief remark to the eftect that " the President's condition continues favora- 
ble," etc. These bulletins are now issued three times daily, and will be so contin- 
ued. Some explanation of the technical terms employed, and the maimer of 
determining the President's condition, will, no doubt, assist many to a quick 
comprehension of the bulletins, as it frequently occurs that the man of business 
or labor has but time for a glance at them, as he passes. " Pulse," on a bulletin, 
means the number of beats per minute of the patient's pulse. This, as every- 
body understands, is determined by counting the pulsations, watch in hand. 
"Temperature'' means the degree of heat, Fahrenheit, of the patient's body. 
This is ascertained by placing the bulb of a small thermometer, specially arranged 
and adapted for the purpose, in the mouth of the patient, or under the armpit, 
as tiie attending surgeon may see tit. Tlie highest degree registered by the mer- 
cury shows the temperature of the body. "Respiration " means the number of 
breathings per minute, and tiiese, like the pulsations, are ascertained by watch- 
ing and counting the times the chest rises and falls per minute. In good health 
the natural beats of the pulse vary in difterent persons. The average of adults 
is from sixty to seventy per minute. There are, however, very wide diiFerences, 
even in healthy persons. For instance, Bonaparte's natural pulse-beat was only 
about 42, while that of one of the lord justices of England (the name is not now 
remembered) was as high as 128 per minute. These, however, are extremes. 
Then, too, the pulse-beats of healthy persons vary at dilTerent times of the day, 
or according to the position of the body or to the activity or quiet of the person. 
The greatest frequency of the beat occurs during the middle of the day and the 
least about midnight. As a rule in health the pulse is quicker in the morning 
than in the evening, biit in a fever, especially in warm weather, this is i'i reversed, 
and the increase is in the evening. The President's pulse, since the hopeful 
symptoms of his case set in has invariably quickened in the evening and decreased 
in tlie morning. The doctors attributed the increase to the heat, stir and bustle 
incident to the daytime and the decrease to the cooler atmosphere and the general 
quiet which prevail at night. President Garfield's natural pulse, when in good 
health and quiet, is about 70 beats per minute. The highest pulsation yet reached 
in his case iias been 126. For the past several days it has ranged from 108 to 
96. In cases of extreme lethargy the pulse has been known to go down to 17, 
and the other extreme on record is 200, the latter occurring in children alflicced 
with water on the brain. The average temperature or natural heat of the human 
body, in good condition of health, is 98^ degrees, (98. 5 Fahrenheit.) The 98th 
degree is marked on the tliermometer as " blood heat." Cases are on record in 
which the temperature rose to 108 in children and 107 in adults, but 105 is regarded 
as almost certain drath, and 104 as extreme'y dangerous. Raving yellow-fever 
patients are said to rarely go above 105. The President's temperature has been 
as low as 98.9, only four-tenths of a degree above normal. Last night it reached 
the highest point^l02.8. The surgeons ascribed this unusual rise — it had not 
been going above 101 and fractions— to excitement of the patient, produced by 
the hammering and other noises and stir necessary to tlie introduction of the 
pipes for the compressed air. The fact that the temperature receded this morn- 
ing to 99.6 proves the accuracy of this opinion. In cases of cholera the tempera- 
ture of the body has been known to fall to 77, but the icy hand of death already 
had hold of the patient. The President's respiration has varied 19 to 24. In 
health, and when entirely free from any exciting influence, the natural respira- 
tion (number of breathings per minute) of an adult is from fourteen to eigliteen ; 
but in cases of sickness and of wounds it has been recorded as low as 7 and as 
high as 100 per minute. 

" Peritonitis " is a term that was frequently used in the earlier bulletins to 
denote one of the dangers of the President's condition ; but his case has now 
reached a state of progress which relieves that apprehension. The term, briefly 
defined, means inflammation of the peritoneum, which is a membrane that envel- 
opes the intestines and other abdominal organs and generally the interior of the 
abdomen. Inflammation of that membrane is a most dangerous, if not fatal, 
phase of disease on a wound. 

"Tympanitis" was another unfavorable sympton in the earlier stages of the 
President's case, now happily passed. Its meaning was that the abdomen was 



79 

swelling up tight, like a drum (tympan) from an accimiulat'on of air or gases in 
the intestinal tube or in the peritoneum. The tympanitis tlisappexred bBfore it 
developed to an alarming extent. 

Executive Mansion, Mly 13. 8.30 A. M.— The President is doing well thi^ 
marning. Pulse 90; temperature 98.5 ; respiration, 20. His gradual progress to-^ 
wards recovery is manifest, and thus far without serious complications. — [Signed 
by the physician?.] 

1 P. M. — The President's condition continues favorable. Pulse, 92; temperature, 
100.6 ; respiration 22.— [Signed by the physicians. | 

For about three hours last night the President was restless. He was sponged 
off, and shortly afterwards went to sleep, getting a very good night's rest for one 
in his condition. This morning opened more hopeful than ever for the President. 
His condition was better than it has been at any time. His pulse— 90 — was lower 
than at, any time since the wound was received. His temperature was normal, 
the first time it has been in that satisfactory condition, and his respiration has 
gone down to 20. In short, everything was not only satisfactory in every way, 
but tlie indications of a steady improvement more marked than ever. 

At 3 o'clock the President was resting quietly. The improvement over his con- 
dition heretofore, which was very noticeable this morning, continues. \t is as 
marked this afternoon, compared with the same hour yesterday, as the im- 
provement this evening was over his condition yesterday evening. 

The following telegram was sent by the attending surgeons to the consulting 
surgeons this afternoon : — "Executive Mansion, July 13, 1 P. M. — To Drs. Frank 
H. Hamilton and D. H. Agnew. The febrile rise yesterday afternoon was less 
marked and occurred at a later hour than on the previous day, and to-day, for the 
first time, the President's morning temperature fell to t.ie normal point. The 
general progress of his symptoms appears more favorable than hitherto. During^ 
the last twenty-four hours he has taken thirty-two ounces of milk and one ounce 
of rum. This morning he had also a slice of milk toast, and chewed the breast 
of a woodcock, but did not care to swallow the meat. He had last night one- 
quarter of a grain of sulphate of morphia hypodermically, (in no twenty-four hours 
during the past week has he received more than a single dose of this quantity,) and 
slept well during the night. This morning he received ten grains of the bi-sulphate 
of quinia. Yesterday at 7 P. M. his pulse was 104; temperature, 102.4; respiration, 
24. To-day at 8:30 A. M., pulse, 90; temperature, 98.5; respiration, 20. At 1 P. M., 
pulse, 94; temperature, 100.6; respiration, 22. — D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. 
Barnes, Kobert Reyburn. 

Secretary Blaine sent the following cable this morning : 

Lowell, Minister, London: The President's condition this morning is much 
better than at any time since he was wounded. Temperature normal ; respiration 
very nearly normal ; pulse 96. Pain in feet and legs greatly diminished. Weather 
very warm, but President's room kept as cool as desired. — Blaine, Secretary. 

Executive Mansion, July 14, 8:30 A. M. — The President has passed a comfort- 
able night and continues to do well. Pulse, 90; temperature, 99.8 ; respiration, 22. 
— D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert Reyburn. 

1 P. M. — The progress of the President's case continues to be satisfactory this 
morning. Pulse, 94; temperature, 98.5; respiration, 22. — D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, 
J. J. Woodward, Robert Reyburn. 

The 1 o'clock bulletin, this afternoon, is the best that has been issued yet. 
The pulse and temperature of the President were lower than at noon of any day 
yet. The President was given this afternoon a sandwich of raw beef. He ate it 
with satisfaction. At 1 o'clock his condition was of the most favorable character. 

The President at 3 o'clock this evening was unchanged from his very favorable 
condi*:ion. He is better than ever before. Each hour he seems to get better 
though. There is no longer any doubt that he is on the high road to recovery. 
The great danger is past. Unless some turn of a very serious and unfavorable 
character is taken the President can be said to be practically out of the great 
danger in which he has been. For the past ten days he has improved so much that 
nothing too hopeful can be said of his condition, except that his recovery will be 
rapid. It will be slow but sure, the doctors all say. 



80 

Last night at midnight the President was sleeping quietly, as he had been most 
-of the evening. His symptoms at that hour were all favorable. When he was last 
awake he asked Dr. Reyburn what the news was. The doctor replied that the 
governors of the several States had in view to issue, when he (the President) should 
be out of danger, proclamations appointing a general day of thankso lying to God 
for the answered prayers of the nation. The President seemed touched and grati- 
fied. In conversation with the President yesterday Colonel Rockwell made the 
remark to him that " the heart of the nation was in this room. " The words seemed 
to make an impression on him, and last night, while Colonel Rockwell was sitting 
by his bedside, he murmured in his sleep : "The heart of the nation will not let 
the old soldier die." 

Executive Mansion, July 15, 8.30 A. M.— The President has rested well during 
the night ; is doing admirably this morning, and takes his food with relish. Pulse, 
90; temperature, 98.5; respiration, 18.— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. 
Barnes, Robert Reyburn. 

1 P. M.— The President doing very well. The President continues to do very 
well this morning. Pulse, 94 ; temperature, 98.5 ; respiration 18— D. W. Bliss, J. 
-J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn. 

At 3 o'clock this afternoon the President was resting comfortably. His favor- 
able condition continued. He is doing better to-day than any day of his illness. 
He is stronger than yesterday. He is recovering surely. But little anxiety as to 
the final result is now felt. The President moved his legs considerably during the 
day, and has partly regained the use of his arms. 

The following telegram was sent by the attending surgeons to the consulting 
surgeons this afternoon : 

Executive Mansion, 1 P. M.— For Drs. Frank H. Hamilton and D. H. 
Agnew : The President continues to do well. The afternoon fever is daily less 
marked. A smaller quantity of milk has been given and solid food substituted 
and relished. He has had less rum, and at intervals of several hours some Tokay 
wine, in all about two ounces and a half of the latter, Last niglit his hypodermic 
injection consisted of 3 16 of a grain of morphia only, which proved sufficient to 
-secure rest. This morning W3 have altered the dose of sulphate of quinia to three 
grains, to be taken three times daily. Yesterday, at 7 P. M., his pulse was 98, 
temperature, 101 ; respiration, 23. To-day, at 8.30 A. M., pulse, 90; temperature, . 
98.5 ; respiration, 18. At 1 P. M., pulse, 94 ; temperature, 98.5 ; respiration, 18.— 
J). W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn. 

Mr. Jennings had the larger cooling apparatus at work la-t night. This ma- 
<<;hine will furnish some 100,000 feet of cool air hourly. The other one furnishes 
about 18,300 feet an hour. It will still be used to keep tlie President's room at the 
uniform temperature of 75 degrees. Tlie large macliine is said to cool the corri- 
dor, upon whicli tlie President's room opens. This invention has attracted a great 
deal of attention, because of its perfect success. Commodore Shock, chief of the 
bureau of Pteam-engineering, has made elaborate drawings of it for comparison, 
with the plans for the ventilation of ships employed in the navy. Mrs. Garfield 
yesterday paid a visit to the basement to examine the machine and was greatly 
pleased wich its workings. Dr. Woodward keeps a record of the amount of air 
furnished and its temperature, taking his data once every hour. He visits the 
basement every night. 

Professor Bell, of the telephone, arrived at the White House yesterday after- 
noon with an instrument for ascertaining by electricity the location of the bullet 
In the President's body. The instrument is called an induction balance. A num- 
ber of experiments with it were made last evening, but not on the President. It 
was decided that there was no necessity for disturbing the President in order to 
see if the machine would locate the ball in his body. It may possibly be time 
after the President gets up and is walking about, but not before. The ball, 
wherever it is, is not causing any alarm even if its exact location is not known. 
Utider such circumstances it is thought better not to disturb the President by an 
experiment with the machine. 

Executive MANStoN, July 16, 8:30 A. M.— The President has passed another 
good night, and is steadily progressing towards convalescence. Pulse, 90 ; tem- 
perature, 98.5; respiration, 18.— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, 
Robert Reyburn. 



81 

In view of the f ivorable progress of the President's ease, the surgeons have de- 
cided to issue bulletins only in the morning and evening. 

The following telegram was sent by the attending surgeons to the consultmg 
surgeons this afternoon : 

Executive Mansion, 1 P. M.— To Dr. F. H. Hamilton and Dr. D. H. Agnew: 
The President progresses steadily towards convalescence. During the last 24 
hours he has had but one-eighth of a grain of sulphate of morphia (in a single 
hypodermic injection at bedtime). He slept well and this morning expresses 
himself as feeling quite easy. The quinia is continued in three-grain doses three 
times daily. Hels taking a still larger nroportion of solid food, with more relish 
than hitherto, and some old Port wine lias been substituted for the Tokay, its fla- 
vor being preferred by the patient. The febrile rise yesterday afternoon was less 
than on anv day since you saw him. At 7 o'clock P. M. his pulse wa* 9S ; tem- 
perature, 98.5; respiration. 20. This morning, at 8:30. pulse, 90; temperature, 
98.5; respiration, 18. At 1 P. M., pulse, 94; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 18. 
Hereafter, our dispatch to you will be sent afrer the evenir.g consultation.— D. W. 
Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, R >bert R-^yburn. 

No bulletin was issued at 1 o'clock this afternoon as heretofore. The tem- 
perature and pulse had gone up but very little, and there were no symptoms 
in the least unfavorable. There was no fever, nor any signs of it. The Presi- 
dent slept a good deal this morning. He is stronger than yesterday— stronger 
than at any time since the reaction from the shock of the wound. He was 
more cheerful this afternoon and did not complain of the pain. He still suf- 
fers pain but it is not so acute as it has been. Mrs. Garfield has been m the 
room with him since breakfast this morning fanning him and sometimes talk- 
ing a little with him. . tt ^ • j 

This afternoon has been a very comfortable one for the President. He did 
not talk any, but remained easily and quietly on his bed. He took a little 
sleep. At one time he had his eyes closed and appeared to be sleeping. Sud- 
denly he opened thein, and said to Colonel Rockwell, who was by the bed, 
"You thought I was asleep, but I was not." His breathing is perfectly free 
and easy. 

Executive Mansion, July 16, 7 P. M.— The President has passed a better 
day than any since he was liurt. The afternoon fever is still less than yes- 
terday. At 1 P. M. his pulse was 94; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 18. His 
pulse is now 98 : temperature, 100.2 ; respiration, 19.— D. W. Bliss, J. K. 
Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert Reyburn. 

The history of the President's case to-day was almost a duplication of the 
record of the day before. At 10 o'clock last night there had been a further 
reduction of two-tenths in the maximum temperature for the 24 hours, which 
indicates a continued abatement of the afternoon fever, and there had also 
been a steady improvement in the general symptoms. The patient ate a small 
quantity of roast beef yesterday afternoon, swallowing both juice and fiber, 
and took the usual allowances of toast, milk, meat extract and wine. At 10 
o-clock last night he was sleeping quietly after a hypodermic injection of one- 
eighth of a grain of morphia. The discharge from the wound continues to be 
normal in quantity and appearance, and from the fact that the»drainage tube 
cannot be pushed further than three inches and a half into the wound without 
encountering resistance, it is inferred that the pus all comes from that part of 
the bullet's track which lies between the external surface of the body and the 
ribs, and that the depths of the wound have closed. 

Dr. Reyburn, upon being asked at a late hour last night whether he regarded 
the President as out of danger, said : "I should hardly like yet to pronounce 
him safe, but he is rapidly approaching the safety line. There is not the 
slightest indication of pyfemia, the danger of secondary hemorrhage has almost 
entirely passed, the surgical fever has so far abated as to be apparent only for 
afewlioursin the afternoon and evening, and the patient is making steady 
progress toward convalescence." 

The Executive Mansion presented a quiet and almost deserted appearance 
yesterday, the callers being for the most part newspaper correspondents and 
reporters. The members of the Cabinet, with one or two exceptions, have 
gone either down the river or to Deer Park to escape the heat and to recover 
from the prostrating anxiety of the past two weeks. 



82 

Executive Mansion, July 17, 1:45 A. M.— The President has rested well 
since midnight, and at this hour is sleeping quietly. ^ . i , , 

The Presfdent's progress towards convalescence, noted in the official bul- 
letin of Saturday, steadily continues. He feels greatly refreshed by the rest- 
ful unbroken sleep which he had last night, and which was materially assisted 
by the agreeable change in the weather. His pulse is gradually lessening; it 
now being 88, with normal temperature and respiration. He will receive for 
breakfast beafsteak, toast, and meat-juice and poached eggs, and later on a 
little oatmeal cooked to a jelly. It is deemed best by the surgeons to give him 
solid, substantial food in the morning, discontinuing it at 1 o'clock, after which 
time only liquid nourishment is administered. 

Executive Mansion, July 18, 8:30 A. M.— The President has passed another 
comfortable niglit, and is doing well this morning. Pulse, 83; temperature, 
98.4; respiration, 18.— D. W. Bliss, J. K.Barnes. J. J. Woodward, Robert Rey- 

1. P. M.— The condition of the President has not materially changed since 
morning. He has no fever and is resting quietly. Pulse, 90; temperature and 
respiration normal. 

The following bulletin was sent this morning to the Cabinet officers by the 
President's private secretary: 

Executive Mansion, July 19, 8 A. M.— The slightly increased febrile rise 
which occurred yesterday evening, but which was not due to any unfavorable 
change in the condition of the wound, has entirely disappeared this morning, 
and. at this hour, the President's pulse is 90, with a normal temperature and 
respiration. He rested well during the night, at one time sleeping 3* hours 
without awakening, and is now feeling bright and comfortable. There will 
be a slight change in his diet, something else being substituted for potatoes 
and oatmeal, which have been found unsatisfactory. 

8:30 A. M.— The President has passed a very good night, and this morning 
he was free from fever, and e.xpresses himself as feeling quite comfortable. 
Pulse, 90; temperature, 98.5; respiration, 18.— D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. 
Woodward, Robert Reyburn. 

At 2 o'clock this afternoon, the President's pulse was 92, with respiration 
and temperature normal. He slept more during the day, and was comfortable 
and easy. His appetite continues good, and he would eat more if it were given 
him. There is no sign of fever, and its return is not expected. 

At 3 o'clock this afternoon, the President's condition was still very 
favorable. He is having a very comfortable day. There was no sign of fever. 
The wound discharged copiously to-day. The discharge continues to be 
healthy. The patient is none the worse to-day from last night's fever. 

The following telegram was sent by the attending surgeons to the consult- 
ing surgeons last night: 

"Shortly after our dispatch of yesterday the President received a hypodermic 
injection of one-eighth of a grain of sulphate of morphia. He slept well dur- 
ing the night, and this morning at 8:30 o'clock had a pulse of 8S, temperature, 
98.4; respiration, 18. His day, however, was not quite as comfortable as yes- 
terday. Slight gastric disturbance was noted toward noon, m consequence ot 
which the quantity of nourishment administered was temporarily diminished. 
This was followed by rather more afternoon ''ever than yesterday, but the dif- 
ference was not great, and is thought to be merely a temporary fluctucvtion. 
About 1 P. M. his pulsQ was 98; temperature, 98.5; respiration, 18; at 7 P. M. 
pulse, 102; temperature, 100.7; respiration 21." 

Dr. Bliss, upon being asked at 10:30 o'clock last night whether there was 
anything in the patient's condition to justify uneasiness, replied: "Nothing 
whatever. He is doing well. The fever is subsiding. His pulse is below 100 
again, and he is sleeping quietly. He became a little overwearied tnis after- 
noon, but he will probably be as well again to-inorrow morning as he was this. 

Executive Mansion, Jnhj 20, 8 A. M.— There is a decided improvement in 
the President's condition this morning. He slept very well during the night, 
and his pulse at this hour is 8(3, which is lower than at any previous time. 



83 

Temperature and respiration normal. The wound is doing well and is dis- 
charging freely and properly. The President's appetite is still good and great 
care will continue to be exercised in his diet. 

1:30 P. M.— The President is passing a comfortable day and making steady 
progress toward convalescence, At this hour his pulse is 88, and liis tempera- 
ture and respiration are normal. 

At 2 o'clock this afternoon the President's temperature was 88, an increase 
of two beats since this morning. The temperature and respiration continue 
normal and he was resting easily. He dozed at intervals during the morning 
and afternoon. There w^as no fever at two. The condition of the patient was 
very favorable and satisfactory. He gets a little stronger almost daily, though 
the strength returns very slowly. 

The progress of the President towards recovery continues uninterruptedly. 
He has passed a quiet night. Pulse this morning 86; temperature. 98.4; respir- 
ation, 18. (Signed) D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert Eey- 
burn. 

The following dispatch was sent last night by the attending physicians to 
the consulting physicians: "Last evening the President received a hypodermic 
injection of one-eight) i of a grain of sulphate of morphia, and slept well dur- 
ing the night. He continues to take sulphate of quinia in three-grain doses 
thrice daily, and has enamata wiien required. As anticipated, the increased 
fever of yesterday proved only temporary, and he has had a better day to-day 
than any since he was injured. The wound looks well and is discharging 
healthy pus freely. This morning at 8:30 his pulse was 90; temperature, 98. 4 
degrees; respiration, IS. At 1 P. M., pulse 92; temperature, 98.5 degrees; res- 
piration, 19. At 7 P. M., pulse, 96; temperature, 9.98 degrees; respiration, 19. 

July 21.— The President passed a good night. He slept more continuously than 
heretofore ; in fact, from 1 to 5 o'clock he slept without a break. There was 
no fever during the night. This morning tlie President expressed a desire for 
more solid food than has been given him the past two days. The physicians 
did not grant all the President's request, but allowed him a piece of chicken, 
which he apparently enjoyed very much. In addition to the chicken he ate a 
piece of toast, with the juice of a steak squeezed over it, and some milk with 
a little old rum. He was more cheerful than usual this morning, and was 
allowed to talk without much restraint to Mrs. Garfield and the others who were 
in the room. The following official bulletin was issued this morning : 

Executive Mansion, July 21, 8:30 A. M.— The President has had a good 
night, and is doing excellently this morning. Pulse, 88; temperature, 98.4; 
respiration, 18. (Signed) D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Eobert 
Eeyburn. 

2 P. M.— The President is steadily convalescing, and has thus far passed a 
quiet and comfortable day. He has had no fever since last night, and at this 
hour his pulse is 92 and his temperature and respiration are normal. Dr. Rey- 
burn said: "He is doing excellently. I am free to say to-day, as I did yester- 
day, that he is better than at any time during his illness. He is recovering 
very nicely." 

At 3 o'clock this afternoon the President had no fever, and everything was 
still of the most favoraole character. He has taken a good deal of liquid nour- 
ishment since breakfast. He has had milk and rum, and beef-tea at intervals. 

The following bulletin was sent, this morning, to each of the Cabinet officers 
by the President's private secretary : 

Executive Mansion, July 21, 8 A. M.— The improvement in the Presi- 
dent's condition continues to be steady and uninterrupted. His pulse this 
morning is 88, with a normal temperature and respiration. He is bright and 
cheerful, has an excellent appetite, and expresses a desire for more substantial 
nourishment. There is no better indication of his progress than the disposi- 
tion which he is now manifesting to think and to talk of outside matters. The 
surgeons express themselves as entirely satisfied with the progress of the case. 

The President's sick room always has plenty of pretty flowers in it. They 
are placed where he can see them and enjoy their fragrance. Mrs. Garfield at- 
tends specially to them. Every morning handsome bouquets are prepared in 



84 

the conservatory and taken to the President's room and the flowers of the day 
before are removed. The White House conservatory is one of the best in the 
. city and there is no trouble in keeping the flowers in the sick room constantly 
fresh. 

Colonel Eockwell passed the night in the President's room. He said this 
morning that it was a splendid night for the President. He was very comfort- 
able and restful, and had the best night since he was shot. 

Tlie President passed a very comfortable night. The first part of the 
night he dozed at intervals. The latter part of the night he slept very, very 
well and continuously. He had no fever during the night. The fact that he 
is steadily recovering— though the progress is by no means rapid— is patent 
more and more each day. The doctors all agree upon a sea voyage as soon as 
sufficient strength is regained; but tliey cannot say how soon that will be. The 
President was less restless last night than upon any night since he was wounded. 
He continues to improve in color and general appearance; but that improve- 
ment is commensurate with the regaining of strength; that is, it is very slow. 
Dr. Bliss, this morning, said: "Another most favorable day has set in." 
This morning's bulletin wa* as follows: 

8:30 A. M.— Tlie President rested well during the night, and is quite easy 
this morning; pulse, 88; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 17.— D. W. Bliss, J. K. 
Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Kobert Eeyburn. 

The improvement in the President's condition continues. He slept well 
during the night, the cool weather being greatly in his favor. This morning 
his pulse is 88, with a normal temperature and respiration. The nourishment 
now being administered more than supplies the waste, and while it is probable 
that he is daily adding a little to his strength, still it is found that his system 
is not yet capable of resisting any unusual excitement, and the surgeons in 
charge insist upon as perfect repose as can be secured. 

At half -past twelve o'clock the President was dozing. He dozed at intervals 
during the day. ISTo fever has appeared. The symptoms were all favorable, 
and the pulse normal. 

The President passed a very comfortable afternoon. He asked for water 
several times after he was given rum and milk at 12 o'clock. He is allowed 
but very little water. At 3 o'clock this afternoon there had been no fever nor 
any indications of it. He has dozen again this afternooii; not not so much as 
this morning. The pain in his legs is not so sharp to-day. At 3 o'clock, his 
temperature, pulse, and respiration were normal. The doctors agree that he 
is not far from the convalescent stage. 

The matter which is discharged from the President's wound is always sub- 
jected to microscopic examination. There has been found in the pus small 
particles or fragments of cloth. Upon close examination, these were revealed 
to be pieces of'^the President's pantaloons and shirt, which had been forced in 
the wound by tlie bullet. Their discharge w\t,s a very satisfactory sign, as it 
indicates that the wound is being thoroughly cleaned. 

When the President's wound was dressed this morning there was a fuller 
and freer discharge of pus than at any previous time. With the discharge 
came small portions of the clothing worn by the President on the morning he 
w^as shot. There was also thrown out a small piece of bone. It was a portion 
of the rib which was fractured by the ball. There also came out some slough, 
or dead tissue. These are the most satisfactory signs. They indicate that the 
w^ound is being cleaned out. The wound is in better condition to-day than at 
any time heretofore. 

The cooliii? apparatus continues to do its work satii^factorily. The temperature 
of the PresUlent't; room is kept under perfect control, and is regulated to the nicety 
of a balance wheel. Mr. Jennings, who has kept personal charge of it, continues 
on duty, and will not le>ve, he says, until the President is removed. 

Drs. Agnew and Hamihon were hurriedly sent for ai^ain, and on the 20th it was 
discovered that a pus cavity had been formed some three inches below the spot 
where tlie ball had entered, and this complication w is relieved by Dr. Agnew by 
a skillful use of the knife, making an incision some two inches deep below the 
mouth of the wound, which released a quantity of ahout two ounces of imprisoned 
pus. The next day. for the first time, the gravity of the comminutinn of tje rib 
was develop<'d, and Dr. Agnew at the morning dressing removed with his fingers 
and forceps a number of sharp splinters of bone, which had been, it was believed 



60 

up to this time, the aggravating cause of the large pus discharge and the formation 
of the pocket which had necessitated the incision. The operation was a severe 
one, but was borne without etherization, the patient being relieved simply by an 
application of carbolized ?pray to the parts to which the knife was applied. The 
President was very much weakened by the shock of (his treatment, and to such an 
extent was it manifest that it showed in his voice, his accelei'ated pulse, and gen- 
eral debility. 

Executive Mansion, July 23. 10 A. M. — Tiie President was more restless last 
night, but this morning, at 7 A. M., while preparations were made to dress his 
wound his temperature was found to be normal ; pulse, 02 ; temperature, 9S.4 ; 
respiration, 19. At 7.30 he had a slight rigor, in consequence of which the dress- 
ing of his wound was postponed. Reaction followed promptly and the dressing 
has now just been completed. At present his pulse is 110 ; temperature, 101 ; 
respiration, 24., — D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn. 

7.30 P. M. — The progress of the President's case continues without material 
change. At 1 P. M. the pulse was 98; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 18. At 7 
P. M,, pulse, 98; temperature, 100.2 ; respiration, 19. 

Jul]i 24. — The President's fever last night was very sharp. He subsequently per- 
spired and it partly went oflf that way, but this morning it took the shape of a chill. 
The chill lasted about fifteen minutes, and the President shook with it very much. 
It was a pretty severe chill. At one time the pulse reached 130 — a most unsatis- 
factory sign. It dropped back right away, however. The chill set in about 8 
o'clock, and it was a little after 9 before the reaction took place. After it the 
patient rested pretty comfoi tably. The doctors do not assign any exact reason 
for the President's unsatisfactory condition to-day. They say that it is probably 
caused by the failure of the wound to discharge freely. >Vhen it was dressed this 
morning the wound did not give forth near as much matter as during the past few 
days. By pressing on the body a little was forced out. It is possible, the doctors 
think, that a new formation is being made near the bullet. The method of dress- 
ing the wound was changed a little this morning. Dressing that will keep the 
wound more open was applied. The drainage tube was also changed for one a 
little longer. The new tube was so adjusted that it penetrated the wound about 
three inches and a half from the opening. In dressing the wound this morning, 
when it was found that the discharge was by no means free, the pressing upon the 
abdomen, which has heretofore caused u||flow of pus, was tried, but it did not work 
satisfactorily. This would indicate an accumulation of matter where the bullet is 
located. 

Mr. Gladstone, the English Premier, has written the following note to Mrs. Gar- 
field. Its text was cabled to the State Department through Minister Lowell at 
London : 

London. July 21. — Madam : You will, I am sure, excuse me, though a per- 
sonal stranger, for addressing you by letter to convey to you the assurance of my 
own feelings and those of my countrymen on the occasion of the late horrible at- 
tempt to murder the President of the United States in a form more palpable at 
least than that of messages conveyed by telegraph. Those feelings have been 
feelings in the first instance of sympathy and afterwards of joy ai d thankfulness 
almost comparable, and, I venture to say, only second to the strong emotions of 
the great nation of which he is the appointed head. Individually I have, let me 
beg to believe, had my full share in tlie sentiments which have possessed the Brit- 
ish nation. They have been prompted and quickened largely by wl^at, I venture 
to think, is the ever-growing sense of harmony and mutual respect and aftection 
between the two countries and of a relaiionsliip which from year to year becomes 
more and more a practical bond of union between us, but they have also drawn 
much of their strength fi-om a cordial admiration of the simple heroism which has 
marked the personal conduct of the President, for we have not yet wholly lost 
the capacity of appreciating such an example of Christian faith and manly forti- 
tude. This exemplary picture has been made complete by your own contribution 
to its noble and touching features, on which I only forbear to dwell beca use I am 
directly addressing you. I beg to have my respectful compliments and congratu- 
lations conveyed to the President, and to remain, dear madam, with great esteem, 
your most faithful servant, W. E, Gladstone. 



86 

In reply to this Secretary Blaine last niglit telegraphed as follows : 

Washington, D. C, July 22. — Lowell, Minister, London : I have laid before 
Mrs. GarJiekl, the note of Mr. Gladstone just received by cable.- I am requested 
by her to say that ainono- the many manifestations of interest and expressions of 
sympathy which have leached her none has more deeply touched her heart than 
the kind words of Mr. Gladstone. His own solicitude and condolence are received 
with gratitude. But far beyond this she recognizes that Mr. Gladstone rightfully 
speaks for the people of the British isles, whose sympathy in this national and 
personal affliction has been as quick and sincere as that of her own countrymen. 
Hei* chief pleasure in Mr. Gladstone's cordial letter is found in the comfort which 
it brings to her husband. The President is cheered and solaced.on his painful and 
weary way to health by the many messages of sympathy which in his returning 
strength he safely receives and most gratefully appreciates. 

Blaine, Secretary. 

Executive Mansion, hdy 25, 8.30 A. M. — The President has passed a more 
comfortable night, and has had no rigor since that reported in the bulletin yester- 
day morning. He is doing well this morning. Pulse, 96; temperature, 98.4 ; res- 
piration, 18. — D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Eobert Keybnrn. 

As yesterday wore on it became more and more evident that the operation 
performed upon the President in the morning had been very benefical in its results. 
The pus which had collected in the cavity, and winch was the cause of the Presi- 
dent's critical condition, flowed freely. It came from both the wound and the 
counter opening. A semi-circular tube through the incision and connecting with the 
track of the wound, allowed the cavity to be washed thoroughly. The doctors 
announced early last evening that the collected matter had been thoroughly cleaned 
out. This allowed the discharge from the wound to be resumed — the obstruction 
having been removed. The discharge was free and full. The removal of the pus 
from the cavity took with it all fear of blood poisoning at present. The symptoms 
of pyiTemia which were so strongly marked were caused by the accumulated pus. 
There is yet danger of py?emia, however. Another cavity may form. Medical 
opinion is that there is more probability of the formation of another cavity where 
the one just removed was located than at any other point along the track of the 
wound. Great care by keeping the cavity perfectly clean is taken to prevent such 
a new formation. The President rented ■« ell yesterday afternoon. He ate more 
toast with beef jucie and took his milk and rum at intervals. There is everything 
to encourage the hope that the President's improvement will continue. Drs. 
Hamilton and Agnew both feel greatly encouraged after the operation of yesterday, 
but at the same time admitted that the patient was in much danger yet and had a 
long road to travel before recovery. 

In an interview with a representative of the Associated Press, at 8 o'clock last 
evening. Dr. Keybnrn expressed the opinion that the crisis of the disturbance 
caused by the formation of the pus cavity had passed, and that there is now every 
reason to expect an abatement, if not an entire disappearance of the unfavorable 
symptoms of the last thirty-six hours. In explaining the nature of the operation 
performed by Dr. Agnew yesterday morning and the necessitj' for it. Dr. Eey- 
burn made in substance the following statement: "The direction taken by the 
ball after it entered the body was forward and slightly downward until it struck 
one of the ribs. It was then deflected still further downward and a little to the 
right, so as to make an acute angle with the line of the back. In other words, 
when a probe was introduced into the wound to a depth of thi'ee and a halt inches 
its direction was sucli that its inner end was Only about an inch and a half from the 
outside of the body at a point lower down. The examination, which was made in 
the presence of Drs. Agnew and Hamilton, this morning, showed tiiat a pus cavity 
had formed in the track of the ball near and beyond the point where it glanced 
from the rib, and tliatthe cavity could be reached by a direct jncision three inches 
below the mouth of the wound. It was deci'led at once to perform the operation. 
No anasstiietics were used, but the part to be operated upon was benumbed by the 
spray of ether, and a wide cut was made into the pus cavity, which was reached 
at a depth of little more than an inch. With the aid of a probe and a pair of for- 
ceps, a drainage tube, which is a sn'iall flexible tube of rubber perforated w^ith 
holes, was then introduced into the wound made by the ball, and then after being 
carried through the pus cavity, was brought out through the newly-made incision. 



87 

One end of the tube then projected from the cut made by the surgeon's knife to 
the ether from the mouth of the original wound. As the pus oozed into the tube 
through the perforation, it could escape from eitiier end, and was repeatedly washed 
out with a weak solution of carbolic acid and water, which was thrown through 
the tube in a stream. The discharge which followed the opening of the pus cavity- 
was entirely satisfactory to the surgeons, and was soon followed by relief to the 
patient. The drainage tube had been left as it was originally placed, and will 
remain there for the present. If the wound discharges freely tt rough the new 
opening the tube may perhaps be witl'.drawn from the old one in order to allow 
the latter to heal. The incision made to-day is in direct line with thedeeper parts 
of the wound, and it is thought that the pus will escape through it without any of 
the obstructions which impeded its outflow along the track of the bali, and which 
caused the pus cavity." 

In reply to the question whether another pus cavity is likely to form and bring 
about a r"ecur)ence of the alarmiu!); symptoms of yesterday. Dr. Reyburn said: 
"I cannot answer positively, but as the pus now has free egress, I do not t.iink it 
probable that another cavity will form. Upon being asked whether theie were or 
had been any symptoms in the Tresident's case of pjpemiaor blood-poisoning. Dr. 
Reyburn said: -'None whatever; rigor of course may be a symptom of pyaemia, 
but it is also a symptom of various other complications, and it does not point to 
pyaemia in the present ease. The pus continues healthy, and the characteristic 
symptoms of pyjemia are all wanting. You may say upon my authority that no 
indications of blood-poisoning have been observed, and that we have no reason to 
expect any:" 

The following official bulletin was issued after the consultation and operation 
yesterday : 

The President was more restless than usual during the night and had another 
rigor just before midnight. This morning at 8:15 his pulse wa>^ 98; temperature, 
98.4; respiration, 18. A eonsultation'was then held with Dr. Hamilton, of New 
York, and Dr. Agnew, of Philadelphia, after which a counter opening was made 
through the integument of the back, about three inches below the wound, which, 
it is hoped, will facilitate the drainage of pus and increase the chance of recovery. 
The President bore the operation well, and his pulse is now 112. 

The news of an alarming change in the President's condition was so unexpected 
that it was like a shock to the country. Favoiabie reports of the President's pro- 
gress had gone out from day to day, until the public mind settled upon the con- 
viction that he was out of danger. A relapse was not apprehended. The first 
information sent out from the White House Saturday morning was of an assuring 
character. It cautiously alhided to a slight febrile rise of the night before, and 
closed with a reference to a '' gain in the President's favor." This conveyed the 
impression that he was doing well. Following this, within an hour or two, w^as 
the bulletin of the surgeons stating that the President had passed a restless night, 
and had had a "slight rigor" that morning. The figures given showed an in- 
crease of fever, which caused general alarm. The fear that the President was in 
greater danger than the bulletins indicated took possession of the people, and 
everv face was marked with the deepest anxiety. Tlie news to-day is reassuring, 
and it now looks as if hope may reasonably take the place of fear again. The 
surgical operation performed yesterday was followed immediately by good eff"ect, 
^nd it has apparently removed the cause of all the trouble. The President rested 
well last night, his fever has once more abated, the discharge of pus from the 
wound continues to be free, and everything looks hopeful. The grave danger 
which confronted the President Saturday is passed. Of course the danger re- 
mains of the formation of other abscesses, but the chances are that each new de- 
velopment of the sort can be successfully dealt with, as in this case. 

July 26.— Matters at the White House to-day were quiet. The members « f the 
Cabinet and one or two others were all who called during the forenoon and early 
afternoon, Now and then an intimation came to the house of certain wild re- 
ports that were in circulation. One had it that mortification had set in, and that 
the President was in danger of death within a few short hours. Another was 
that blood poisoning was fully developed. It is almost unnecessary to say that 
neither of these reports had any foundation in truth. There was not the excite- 
ment created by these wild reports that was induced by similar ones which were 
circulated last Saturday. The operation performed this morning was not so im- 



portant though more painful and longer in duration than the operation last Sun- 
day. Dr. Agnew continues to speak hepefuljy of the patient. The good results 
of the operation were perfectly apparent this aftemoon in the President's reduced 
pulse and the half-hour's sleep that he obtained. 

July 27.— The information from the President is cheering indeed. He slept all 
throuo'h last night with the exception of a single brief interval, and the bcntlicent 
effects of this refreshing rest, just at this time, could scaicely be overestimated. 
He is apparently on the road to convalescence once more. The surgeons believe 
now that ihe worst is passed. Since yesterday forenoon the President has con- 
tinued to improve, and last night he expressed himself as feeling better than he 
had for several days. There is every reason now to hope for his recovery. The 
suro-eons have evidently handled the case with the greatest care and skill. During 
the^past several days they have been subjected to sharp, almost fierce criticism 
from some journals, but the marked improvement in the President will overcome 
any feeling of doubt in the public mind that these arraignments of their course 
and treatment may have caused. The surgeons may feel assured that they have 
the confidence of the country, and that their efforts in behalf of the President 
entitle them to the nation's gratitude. 

Executive Mansion, July 28, 8 A. M.— The President rested well during the 
night, and no rigor or febrile disturbance has occurred since the bulletin of 
yesterday evening. This morning the improvement of his general condition is 
distinctly perceptible. He appears refreshed by the night's rest, and expresses 
him-^elf cheerfully as to his condition. Pulse, 92; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 
18._Frank H. Hamilton, J. J. Woodward, D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, Robert 
Key burn. 

The doctors had beforehand agreed that the President should be removed from 
the room in which he has rested since he was brought from the. depot. The 
new room selected for him is that right acit)ss the corridor from the one heretofore 
occupied, which is the southwest room of the building, overlooking the river. The 
new sick chamber is the northv^e-t room of tlie house, looking out upon the 
parking in front, upon Pennsylvania avenue and Lafayette Square. The removal 
was accomplished by wheeling the bed upon which the President rested very 
slowly and carefully out of the old i com, and across the corridor into the new. 
The change was made without any shnck to the patient, and without disturbing 
him in the least. The reason of this change was that the President might be in 
perfectly pu' e quarters not pervaded by any of the odors which always are to be 
found in an apartment occupied for any length of time by the sick. Everything 
in the new sick chamber had been carefully arranged before the change was made. 
The room heretofore occupied wa-^ thoroughly cleaned. The matting and the 
drugget over the bed were rnnoved, all the windows were thrown open, and the 
room is being thoroughly purified. It is probable that the Pi esident will be moved 
back to his old quarters when another change is necessary. 

It is so pleasant to-day Lhat there is no need of artificial cold. Che pipes for 
cold air Will not be luu' in the northwest room and the President will stay there 
only temporarily— until the room across the corridor is thoroughly cleane-i and 
purified. 

Executive Mansion, July 29, 8.30 A. M.— Immediately after the evening 
dres^ino-yesterdyy. Hie President's afternoon fever began gradually to subside. He 
slept well during the night, and this morning is free from fever, looks wi41. and 
expresses himself cheerfully. No rigors have occurred during the pasc twenty-four 
hours nor indeed at any time !.ince the 25ih inst. A moderate rise of tempera- 
ture in the afternoon is to be anticipated for some days to come. At present his 
pulse is 92, temperature, 98.4 ; respiration, 18.— D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. 
Woodward, Robert Reyburn, Frank H. Hamilton. 

The President this afternoon continued in his very favorable condition. He slept 
a little during the afternoon and there was no fever. All the physicians, in- 
cluding' Dr H imilton, continue to express themselves in the most hopeful terms. 
At 3 o'^iloc'k this afternoon the President was doing very nicely. There has been 
no unfavorable change and nothing to indicate but a veiy satisfactory condition of 

the President. tt u t. a 

The history of the President's case presents no new features. He has rested 

quietly throughout the day, taking a small quantity of solid food for the first time 




Garfield's Family 



89 

ill a week and sleeping at intei-vals naturally and peacefully. The usual febrile 
symptoms showed themselves late in the afternoon, but began to subside soon after 
the evening examination. The discharge of pus at the dressing of the wound last 
night was copious and of a healthy character. It is impossible to say definitely 
whether the discharge comes now from the end of the wound where the ball lies or 
from the suppurating surface along the ball's track near the wound's mouth, but 
it is probable that the latter is the case. 

July 30.— 8.30 A. M.— The President slept well during the night and this morning 
is cheerful and expresses himself as feeling better than at any time since he was hurt. 
After the slight rise of yesterday afternoon his temperature became again normal 
early in the evening and so continues. He appears stronger and has evidently 
made good progress on the road towards recovery during the last few days. His 
pulse is now 94; temperature, 9S.4; respiration, 18.— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, 
J. K, Barnes, Robert Reyburn, Dr. Hayes Agnew. 

Everything was as favorable at 3 o'clock this afternoon as it was this morning. 
The President Was doing very well. There has been no drawback in the nature 
of fever or other disturbance. General Swaim said at 3 o'clock : " We are half a 
day further on, and everything is progressing as well as possibly could be expected." 

The President passed Saturday evening and yesterday most comfortably. He 
was raised again yesterday and remained in that posture for some time. The 
fever Saturday evening appeared later and went away earlier. There was but a 
little rise yesterday evening and it soon subsided. The President's appetite yes- 
terday was very good. In addition to the liquid nourishment and a small piece of 
tenderloin steak he was allowed mutton chops. He took during the day 24 ounces 
of liquid nourishment and 4 ounces of solids. 

The President passed last night very pleasantly, and secured a good night's 
rest. The morning examination showed a very healthy discharge from the 
wound. The nature of the discharge showed that suppuration is going on along 
the remote track of the wound as well as in that portion near where the ball 
entered. The President this morning had for breakfast some beefsteak and toast 
saturated in milk. His pulse this morning is better than at any time of the illness. 
The strength and general tone of the pulse shows a great improvement. The fol- 
lowing was this morning's bulletin: 

Executive Mansion, August 2, 8:30 A. M.— The President passed a very 
pleasant night and slept sweetly the great part of the time. This morning he 
awoke refreshed, and appears comfortable and cheerful. Pulse, 94; temperature, 
9S.4; respiration, 18. D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Robert Rey- 
burn, D. Hayes Agnew. 

The morning was passed very comfortably. The President was again raised 
and expressed himself as easier in that position. He is not allowed to retain the 
semi-sitting posture, however, until he becomes tired. The bulletin issued after 
the noon examination was as follows: 

The President is passing the day comfortably with his head and shoulders raised 
in the same manner as yesterday. At the morning dressing his wound was found 
to be doing admirably. His pulse is now 99; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 19.^— 
D. Hayes Agnew, D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert Reyburn. 

At 3 o'clock this afternoon the President was restful . There had been no change 
for the worse during the day. On the contrary, he seemed to be doing better. 
He is improving daily. He can safely be pronounced out of any except unusual 
and unexpected danger. 

The question of removing the President is now being talked of at the White 
House. It is thought that in three weeks, if he progresses as he now does, it will 
will be entirely safe to give him a trip. The sea voyage is what is best thought of 
by the physicians. If the President continues to gain strength without any 
serious break, it is almost safe to predict that iu three weeks he will start on a 
short sea voyage in the Tallapoosa, which will be ready to receive him. 

It is an old story now that the President is "doing remarkably well." Every 
day he is better and better. All the reports from the sick room, oflicial and un- 
official, continue to be of the most encouraging character. There are but very few 
inquirers at the White House about the President. The official bulletins, which 
are posted on a tree in front of the White House and distributed around the differ- 
ent departments, and also posted behind the plate-glass vnndows of the drug 



90 

stores, furnish such good news that the White House is spared from inquiries about 
the President. This morning all that was said at the White House was even of a 
more encouraging character tlian yesterday. 

It is probable that before being taken anwhere else the President will, as soon 
as he is able to be removed, be conveyed to the Soldiers' Home and located in the 
northwest room of the President's cottage there, which has been selected by Mrs. 
Garfield for her husband's occupancy, as heretofore stated. 

Dr. Agnew left for Philadelphia this morning at 9:30 o'clock. Dr. Hamilton 
will arrive either on the limited express from New York at 4:30 this afternoon 
or at 10 o'clock to-night. This morning's bulletin was as follows : 

Executive Mansion, August 3, 8:30 A. M, — The President slept tranquilly 
the greater part of the night. This morning his temperature is normal and his 
general condition satisfactory. Another day of favorable progress is anticipated. 
At present his pulse is 96 ; temperature, 98.4 ; respiration, 18. — D. Hayes Agnew, 
D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robt. Reyburn. 

12:30 P. M. — The President continues to progress steadily towards conva- 
lescence. He has taken to-day an increased proportion of solid food. His wound 
is doing well, and his general condition is better than yesterday. At present his 
pulse is 100 ; temperature, 98.4 ; respiration, 19. — D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. 
K. Barnes, Robt. Reyburn. 

This afternoon the President has passed very comfortably. He has slept some, 
and several times spoke of feeling much better. There has been no fever during 
the day up to 3 o'clock. He is getting along surely on the road to recovery. 

Executive Mansion, Axigust 4, 8:30 A. M. — The President continues' to im- 
prove. He slept well during the night, and this morning looks and expresses 
himself cheerfully. Another satisfactory day is anticipated. At present his pulse 
is 90; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 18. The next bulletin will be issued this even- 
ing, and hereafter the noon bulletin will be dispensed with.— Frank H. Hamilton, 
D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robt. Reyburn. 

The President passed an excellent night. The reduction in the amount of the 
hypodermic injection of morphine last night did not in the least interfere with 
his slumbers. He got along as comfortably under an injection of one-sixteenth 
of a grain as under the one-eighth which had previously been administered to him 
each night. Tjiis morning the President was cheerful and inclined to do a good 
deal of talking. He is allowed now to converse more than heretofore. His ap- 
petite continues to grow as he regains strength. Each day he partakes of more 
nourishment than on the day preceding. Dr. Hamilton was present at the exam- 
ination this morning. It was decided that it was unnecessay to issue a daily 
bulletin at noon, in view of the President's steady progress. Bulletins will here- 
after be issued only in the morning and evening. There has been some comment 
by outside surgeons on the fact that the President's pulse and temperature have 
not been reduced to their normal state. The attending physicians say that the 
maintenance of those symptoms above the normal point is natural and to be 
expected. They are kept up, they say, by the irritation to which the President is 
naturally subjected. Dr. Hamilton is the guest of Attorney- General MacVeagh. 
He arrived last night but did not see the President, as it was deemed best not to 
disturb the patient, who was sleeping when Dr. Hamilton arrived. Dr. Hamilton 
will remain until Dr. Agnew returns, which will be either Saturday night or 
Sunday. 

At 3 o'clock this afternoon the President continued in his very favorable 
condition. He has rested very comfortably during the day. 

Executive Mansion, August 5, 8:30 A. M.— The President slept naturally the 
greater part of the night, although lie had taken no morphia during the last 
twenty-four hours. His improved condition warranted, several days ago, a dimi- 
nution in the quantity of morphia administered hypodermically at bedtime, and it 
was reduced at first to one-twelfth and afterwards to one-sixteenth of a grain in 
the twenty-four hours, without any consequent unpleasant results, and finally has 
been altogether dispensed with. His condition this morning exhibits continued 
improvement, and anotiier good day is anticipated. At present his pulse is 88 ; 
temperature, 98.4 ; respiration, 18.— Frank H. Hamilton, D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, 
J. J. Woodward, Robert Reyburn. 



91 

At the noon- examination the President's pulse, following its usual course, was 
a little higher than in the morning. The pulse was 98 and temperature and res- 
piration normal. There has been no drawback to his improvement and he continues 
to progress favorably. Dr. Bliss said that he was getting along swimmingly, and 
that he was better to-day than yesterday. He is doing as well as he could. There 
has been no change in the treatment of to-day. At 3 o'cloclv the President was 
doing remarkably well. He has been passing a most comfortable day. The 
progress made towards full recovery is more marked each day. 

The President's condition this morning was in every x-espect as satisfactory and 
encouraging as could be wished. He slept the greater portion of the night. No 
morphine was administered to him. Last night there was none of tiie restlessness 
noted on the first night of the abstention from moi'phine. The President slept natu- 
rally and peacefully. The dressing of the wound this morning showed that it 
was in a very healthy condition. The di?charge from it was healthy, though, as 
was the case yestei'day, not as full as it has been. The bulletin issued after the 
morning's examination continued its good tale of steady progress. It was as 
tollov. s : 

Executive Mansion, August 6, 8:30 A. M. — The President has passed an ex- 
cellent night, sleeping sweetly the greater part of the time without the aid of 
morphine or any other anodyne. This morning he is cheerful, and all the indica- 
tions promise another favorable day. Pulse, 92 ; temperature, 98.4 ; respiration, 
18. — D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Robert Eeyburn, Frank H. 
Hamilton. 

Before breakfast this morning the President had a dish of strawberries placed 
before him. They were splendid specimens of the fruit, which had been sent to 
the White House by Mr. W. H. Ward, of New York. The President ate nhie or 
ten of the berries. After this followed the breakfast. The bill of fare was more 
extensive than usual. It consisted of beeksteak, potatoes, tea and toast. 

The neon examination of the President showed a little higher pulse than has re- 
cently been usual. The warmth of the day had to do with the rise. The pulse 
was 100 and the temperature and respiration normal. Tlie President is pronounced 
to be doing very well indeed by his physicians. They consider to-day another 
long step towards recuperation and recovery. 

1 P. M. — The President continues to do well. He said to the surgeons this 
morning tliat he felt better than at any time since his injury. His breakfast tliis 
forenoon consisted of beefsteak and potatoes, toast, tea and a few strawberries. 
The latter were much relished. The patient has had thus far a comfortable day, 
anil at this hour his pulse is 100, and his temperature and respiration norra-^1. 

3 P. M. — The President this afternoon slept a great deal. A 3 o'clock his pulse 
had gone down a little from the 100 beats of noon, and his temperature and res- 
piration continued normal. He was resting very nicely, and nothing had occurred 
to break his steady progress. He is very much better to-day than a week ago. 

August 7. — The President continues to do well. He expresses himself as feeling 
much better yesterday morning than lie has at any time since the shooting. His ap- 
petite continues to improve and he is gaining strength every day. The excessive 
heat had a retarding effect upon him during the afternoon, but the agreeable 
change in the atmosphere and cooling showers last night added much to his com- 
fort. 

Several of the Cabinet officers and their wives called at the White House last 
night and remained until about 10 o'clock, when they leTt for the night, much 
gratified with the cheering news they received from the the sick-room. Dr. Agnew 
arrived last night and relieved Dr. Hamilton. The latter gentleman says he is 
entirely satisfied with the progress the President is making, and entertains the 
belief that his permanent i-eeovery is not far distant. Drs. Bliss and Reyburn and 
Major Swaim were in attendance during the night. _ 

Executive Mansion, 4.45 P. M.— Dr. Bliss reports at 4.45 P. M. that the 
President has had in every respect an excellent day, and that his present condition 
is better than at any time heretofore. He has had no fever since last evening, his 
temperature and respiration have been and are still normal, and his pulse since 
morning has ranged from 92 to 100. 

Executive Mansion, 7 P. M.— Tlie President passed a'comfortable morning, 
his symptoms and general condition being quite favorable. At 12.30 P. M. his 



92 

pulse was 100; temperature, 98.5; respiration, 19. Daring the afternoon he com- 
plained somewhat of the weather, the external heat being such that it was found 
impracticable to keep the temperature of iiis room mucli below 90= without closing 
the windows and doors, which was not thought pruilent. The afternoon rise of 
temperature began as late as yesterday, but has been higher, though unaccompa- 
nied by dryness of skin. At 7 P. M. his pulse was 102, temperature, 101.8 ; res- 
piration, 19. The appearance of the wound at the evening dressing was, liowever, 
good, and there has been no intei-ruption to the flow of pus. — D. W. Bliss, J. K. 
Birnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert Reyburn, Frank H. Hamilton. 

Up to about 5 o'clock this afternoon the President liad a very satisfactory day, 
although the extreme heat of the weather caused liim a great deal of discomfort 
and acted to some extent unfavorably upon his general condition. On account of 
a strong hot wind from the south it was found impracticable, even at the full work- 
ing capacity of the refrigerating machines, to keep the temperature of the patient's 
room down without closing the doors and windows, and this it was not thought 
l^rudent to do. Cold air enough was furnished by the machines, but instead of fill- 
ing the rooDi and crowding out the heated air, as it had heretofore done on warm 
days, tlie cold air itself was swept away almost as fast as it came from the pipes 
by the hot south wind which blew strongly through the Mansion. The thermom- 
eter in the patient's room, therefore, for the first time in several weeks ranged 85° 
to 90°. This temperature, of course, operated to the President's disadvantage in his 
present weak condition, and this afternoon fever was higher tlian usual. There 
was no indication, however, of anj'^ other cause for the increased febrile rise. The 
discharge of pus at the evening dressing was satisfactory, there were no symptoms 
of malaria, and with the single exception of high bodily temperature tlie condition 
of the patient at 7 o'clock seemed quite as good as yesterday, if not better. Soon 
after the evening examination the fever began to abate and the President went to 
sleep naturall.y without anodynes and has rested quietly ever since. Before 10 
o'clock the febrile rise had entirely subsided, and at this hour — 11.30 P. M. — the 
patient's pulse is again below 100, and his temperature is normal. He is sleeping 
peacefully, and as the weather has grown cooler with refreshing rain there is every 
probability that he will have a good night. 

August 8. — Tlie President passed tlie night comfortably. The fever went down, 
and the cool weather after the rain helped him in his slumbers. The wound this 
morning presented a very healthy appearanc 3. At the morning examination it 
was dressed, and the discharge of pus was free. Apparently all that had accu^- 
mulated was taken out. The following bulletin was then issued. 

8.30 A. M. — The President passed a comfortable night and slept weU, without 
anodyne. The rise of temperature of yesterday afternoon subsided during the 
evening, and did not recur at any time through the night. At present he appears 
better than yesterday morning. Pulse, 94 ; temperature, 98.4 ; respiration, 18. 
— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, Frank Hamilton, J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn, 
D. Hayes Agnew. 

After the bulletin was issued the physicians made a thorough examination of 
the President. The cause of the febrile rise of yesterdaj^ which created so much 
anxiety, was decided to be due to the fact that there was some difliculty in drain- 
ing the wound through the incision made by Dr. Agnew at the first operation. 
The track of the original wound to the pus cavity which was cut into some time 
ago has almost entirely healed. It was decided that another incision should be 
made, so that the pus could flow downwards under the rib, instead of the tube, 
having an ascending direction. This was what caused the irritation and febrile 
rise, tlie passage of the pus becoming obstructed somewhat by the fact that it had 
to ascend a little. A new opening was made on the surface of the body. It was 
a continuation downward of the first incision. The flesh was cut down to below the 
rib, and then the cut connected with the former incision. A new drainage tube 
was put in, which being inserted from below, instead of from above the rib, gives 
a decline instead of the slight ascent to the passage of pus. The drainage tube 
through the fii'st incision was not removed. Tliere is now a tube through the old 
and a tube through the new incision which was made to-day. There is no tube in 
the old wound. The operation was performed very successfully. Drs. Agnew 
and Bliss performed it. At the request of Dr. Bliss Dr. Agnew did the cutting. 
The President was in splendid condition for it. The place into which the cut was 
made was treated with the spray of rigorline. Ether was also administered to the 
President. He never flinched during the operation. Tliere was no flow of pus 



93 

after the incision to-day. The wound had been drained before the operation was 
performed. The trouble was that the drainage had not been so well adjusted as 
to prevent irritation and consequent high temperature and pulse. The President, 
after the operation, expressed himself as feeling better. The doctors are much 
pleased with the operation, and think it will be very beneficial towards recovery. 
While every operation performed is a strain on the President, it is not thought that 
he is any worse now or that there is any great danger to be finally apprehended. 
The electric probe was not used to-day. There is no intention of r.sing it. No 
probe has been used on the President since he lay at the depot. There is no in- 
tention of cutting for the ball. After the operation this morning the following 
bulletin was issued: 

10:30 A. M — It having become necessary to make a further opening to facilitate 
the escape of pus, we took advantage of the imo^oved condition of the President 
this morning. Shortly after the morning bulletin was issued he was etherized. 
The incision extended downward and forward and a counter opening made into 
the track of the ball below the margin of the twelfth rib, which it is believed will 
effect the desired object. He bore the operation well, has now recovered from the 
efl'ects of etherization and is in excellent condition. — D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, 
Frank H. Hamilton, J. J. Woodward, Eobert Keyburn, D. Hayes Agnew. 
The following has been sent: 

Lowell, Minister, London : During the past three days the President has 
periodically experienced a rise of temperature, indicating another obstruction to 
the flow of pus. A surgical operation was performed at 9 o'clock this morning by 
Dr. Agnew, assisted by all the surgeons in attendance, by which a free communi- 
cation between the pus cavities and the surface of the body has been effectually 
established. The operation was performed under the influence of ether. The 
President endured it well, and at this hour, 10:30, is doing as well as could be 
hoped. Blaine, Secretary. ^ 

The necessity for the operation which was performed upon the President this 
morning became apparent to the surgeons yesterday, when they found that a 
drainage tube of the size hitherto used could no longer be passed along the track 
of the ball between the ribs. The process of granulation at that point had gone 
on so far as to partially close the orifice, and the ribs prevented the pushing aside 
of the flesh which was healing between them enough so that the tube could be 
introductd. The result of this state of things was that pus formed in the deeper 
parts of the wound rather faster than it could escape through the half-obstructed 
opening between the ribs, and its gradual accumulation began to cause disturbance. 
It was therefore decided to make a new opening into the track of the ball below 
the last rib, so that the ribs should no longer prevent the keeping open of the 
wound by the solid backing, which they afforded to the granulating flesh between 
them, the operation was performed at the request of the other surgeons by Dr. 
Agnew. As soon as the patient had been put under the influence of ether, a long 
and sliglitly curved instrument was introduced into the wound, pushed between the 
ribs and carried downward alond the track of the bullet until its end could be felt 
below the last rib from the outside. Holding this instrument in the wound, as a 
guide, Doctor Agnew then made a counter incision below the twelfth rib, cutting 
directly through the integument until his knife met the end of the first-mentioned 
instrument at the point where ne wished to intersect the track of the ball._ The 
operation was not a difficult or danserous one, and the patient bore both it and 
the etherization extremely well. There is now an opening to the deeper parts of 
the wound, which does not pass between the ribs, and which can always he kept 
free and unobstructed, and no further trouble from the accumulation of pus is _ 
anticipated. Since the operation the President has rested quietly, and is now 
asleep. His pulse, at this hour is 100, and he has neither fever nor any other un- 
favorable symptom, 

ISTotwith'standing the surgical operation which was performed upon the Pres- 
ident yesterday, his condition to-day is by no means unfavorable. Throughout 
the night the patient slept naturally without the use of anodynes. This 
morning his temperature and respiration have been higher than during any day 
since the relapse of two weeks ago. This, however, the doctors attribute to 
the etherization of yesterday. They feel hopeful that during to-day the P"|se, 
temperature and respiration will again subside to the normal points. This 
morning the President was given liquid nourishment— milk, lime-water and 
the Kussian preparation of koumiss. 



94 

At the dressing of the President's wound this morning, it was found that 
pus had been discharging spontaneously and freely through the counter open- 
ing made yesterday. He has been quite comfortable this morning, and taken 
a liberal supply of liquid nourishment. His pulse is now 104; temperature, 
99.7 ; respiration, 19.— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Eobert 
Eeyburn, D. Hayes Agnew. 

The above bulletin, it will be seen, shows an increased pulse over that of the 
morning, but a slightly reduced temperature. Dr. Agnew, it is reported, told 
Secretary Blaine last night that during to-day and to-morrow he looked for a 
high pulse and temperature, but that after to-morrow he expected a marked 
improvement in the President's condition. That he has faith in his improve- 
ment is the fact that he left at 2 o'clock this " afternoon for Philadelphia. 
Dr. Hamilton, who is now in New York, will not return until Thursday. 

Throughout the city to-day there was considerable apprehension. There 
was a feeling that the doctors are concealing some of the worst features of the 
case. Dr. Reyburn said nothing was concealed from the public, and that the 
bulletins represented the actual state of the case, there being no desire to 
either rose-color or misrepresent the facts. 

At 2 o'clock the President fell into a sleep, which seemed peaceful. He 
makes no complaints during the day and bears his infliction with true heroism. 

The following was sent this afternoon : 

Lowell, Minister, London : At this hour, 2 P. M., the phyBicians give an 
encouraging report of the President's condition. Pulse and temperature 
slightly diminished since morning ; pus flowing freely ; appetite improved. 
He has been able to sleep with comfort, lying on his wounded side. 

Blaine, Secretary. 

At 8 o'clock this afternoon Drs. Eeyburn and Bliss were still on duty at the 
"White House. They report the President to be as cheerful as could be ex- 
pected under the circumstances. The fact that the new operation made yes- 
terday allows the pus to be discharged without the use of the drainage tubes 
is considered by the physicians as good evidence that there will be no further 
use for the knife. The unfavorable symptoms of to-day in high pulse and tem- 
perature are attributed entirely to the operation of yesterday. It may be 
Thursday before the President fully rallies from it; but that he will rally all 
the physicians vmanimously declare, and of all persons they ought to know. 

The following oflicial bulletin was issued last night: 

ExecutiveMansion,? p. M.— After the last bulletin was issued the President 
suffered somewhat for a time from nausea due to the ether; but this has now sub- 
sided. He has had several refreshing naps, and his general condition is even 
better than might have been expected after the etherization and operation. At 
noon his pulse was 104; temperature, 109.2; respiration, 20. At present his 
pulse is 108; temperature, 101.9; respiration, 19. Under the circumstances the 
fever must be regarded as moderate. — D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. 
Barnes, Eobert Eeyburn, D. Hayes Agnew. 

Auqust 9, 8:30 A. M. — Notwithstanding the effects of yesterday's operation, 
the President slept the greater part of night without the i;se of any anodyne. 
The febrile rise of yesterday afternoon slowly subsided during the night. This 
morning, at 8:30, his pulse is 98; temperature, 99.8; and respiration, 19. Since 
yesterday afternoon, small quantities of liquid nourishment, given at short 
intervals, have been retained, and this morning larger quantities are being 
administered without gastric disturbance. — D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. 
Woodward, Eobert Eej^burn, D. Hayes Agnew. 
Auijust 10.— The t'oUowing was sent to day: 

Lowell, Minister, London: — At 1 o'clock P. M. the President's condition 
has not essentially clianged since the morning report. At 12 noon he signed 
an important public document, to which his signature was indispensable, with 
a Arm, clear hand. Blaine, Secretary. 

7 P. M. — The President has been very easy during the day, and has con- 
tinued to take the nourislunent allowed Avithout gastric disturbance. The dis- 
clia'-ge of pus from tliewoundisquiteabundant, and.it isevideht that thorough 
drainage has been secured by yesterday's operation." The degree of fever this 
afternoon differs but little from that of yesterday. Pulse, 106; temperature. 
109.1; respiration, 19. 



95 

The following was sent at 11 o'clock last night: 

Lowell, Minister, London: At 11 o'clock to night the physicians report 
the President's condition as satisfactory. He sleeps well without the aid of 
anodynes. It is now the sixth day since he took any morphine. The pulse and 
temperature did not rise as high to-day from the effect of yesterday's operation 
as the surgeons expected. The situation is one of continuing anxiety, but also 
of cheerful hope. Blaine, Secretary. 

AuQust 11.— All the advices touching the President's condition given out at 
the White House continue to he assuring. Last night the patient rested well 
and his sleep was peaceful. At the morning examination the pulse was 100, the 
temperature a fraction over 98, and the respiration 19. The President was 
given for breakfast chicken, potatoes and koumiss. The wound when dressed 
this morning was found to have discharged freely, without the use of the drain- 
age tube. The character of the discharge was healthy. The sides of the cut 
made recently still continue inflamed, and, of course, are still quite sensitive 
to the touch. "^ About 11 o'clock Representative Le Fevre, of Ohio, called and 
inquired anxiously after the President. He was answered by Private Secre- 
tary Brown that there was no cause for alarm, and that the physicians had suc- 
ceeded at last in causing the wound to suppurate without the use of any arti- 
ficial appliances. 

8:30 A. M.— The President has passed an exceedingly good night, sleeping 
sweetly, with but few short breaks, and awakening refreshed this morning at 
a later hour than usual. At the morning dressing, just completed, it was found 
that the deeper parts of the wound had been emptied spontaneously. The 
quantity of pus secreted is beginning to diminish; its character and the ap- 
pearance of the wound are healthy. His temperature shows an entire absence 
of fever this morning, and his pulse, which is less frequent than yesterday, is 
improving in quality. At present it is 100; temperature, 98.6; respiration, 19. 
— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn. 

Executive Mansion, 12:30 P. M.— The President is doing well to-day. 
Besides a liberal supply of liquid nourishment at regular intervals he has taken 
f 0'- breakfast, with evident relish, an increased quantity of solid food. He con- 
tinues free from fever. His skin is moist, but without undue perspiration. 
Pulse, 102; temperature, 98.6; respiration, 19,— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, 
J. K. Barnes, Robert Eeyburn. 

Later this afternoon the condition of the President remained entirely sat- 
isfactory to his physicians. The belief is that as soon as the President fully 
recovers from the shock of Monday's operation he will rapidly convalesce. He 
has had no fever to-day, and other than the usual nocturnal fever, which has 
been a characteristic of the case all through, none is expected. The Presi- 
dent's appetite is improving, and as soon as he can retain nourishing food he 
is expected to gain strength at a rapid rate. 

The important state paper signed by the President yesterday, as.mdicated m 
Secretary Blaine's dispatch to Minister Lowell, was a formal requisition for 
the extradition of a criminal who sometime since took refuge in Canada, and 
is now in the custodv of the Canadian authorities pending the action of this 
Government. This is the first official act performed by the President since the 
2d of July last. ^, , . 

7 P. M.— The President has passed an excellent day. The drainage of the 
wound is now efticient, and the pus secreted by its deeper portions has been 
coming away spontaneously. The afternoon rise of temperature is almost a 
degree less than yesterday and the day before. Pulse at present 108 ; temper- 
ature, 101 ; respiration, 19.— D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Rob- 
ert Reyburn. 

The total amount of the subscriptions received by Mr. Cyrus W. Field for 
the fund for Mrs. Garfield up to noon Tuesday aggregated ^155,000. From 
Philadelphia a note was received inclosing one dollar, and reading : " From 
one who has but little money to give, but Avould willingly give her own life if 
in the giving that our President might be spared. " 

Executive Mansion, Auqusf 12, 8:30 A. M.— The President slept well the 
greater part of the night. The fever of yesterday afternoon subsided during 
the evening and has not been perceptible since 10 P. M. His general condition 



96 

this morniug is good. Pulse, 100 ; temperature, 98.6 ; respiration, 19.— D. W, 
Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert Reyburn, Prank H. Hamilton. 

The doctors state that the President is better to-day than he was yesterday. 
Doctor Bliss says in making his comparison he takes the day as an entirety 
and not the parts of a day. He feels certain that when the President fully 
rallies from the shock of Monday's operation his convalescence will be notably 
rapid. The fever which comes on each evening is the usual surgical fever. 
Every evening after the wound is dressed an examination is had for the bulle- 
tin. The new wound is still very painful to the touch and its dressing annoys 
the patient. It is usually found that an hour after the JDulletin is issued the 
fever subsides. Doctor Bliss says it is not intermittent fever, as has been sug- 
gested, nor has it any malarial tyi)e. The contents of the letter written yes- 
terday by the President to his mother have not been disclosed. It was, how- 
ever, a letter of good cheer and hope. 

12:30 P. M. — The President has passed a comfortable morning. He con- 
tinues to take, without repugnance, the liquid nourishment allowed, and ate 
with relish for breakfast a larger quantity of solid food than he took yesterday. 
At present his pulse is 100 ; temperature, 99.3 ; respiration, 19. — D. W. Bliss, 
J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn, Frank H. Hamilton. 

The above bulletin shows that the President's pulse has not increased be- 
tween 7 A. M. and 12 M., as on yesterday. Yesterday it went up eight beats 
between these hours. There is, however, an increased temperature from 98.6 
to 99.3. This, however, excites no alarm. In every way the President is rep- 
resented to be improved. The talk of removing the President to a healthier 
locality is again revived. At the Soldier's Home the Presidential cottage is 
all ready for occupancy. The repairs to the U. S. Steamer Tallapoosa are also 
nearly complete. There is no doubt but that as soon as the President has 
sufficient strength he will be removed from where he now is. The rank weeds 
on the flats of the Potomac begin to ripen about this time of the year, and the 
effluvia therefrom reaches the White House. When removed it is highly 
probable that a sea voyage will be the programme. 

The United States Steamer Tallapoosa, which has been undergoing repairs 
and fitting out for sea during the past month, has been thoroughly completed 
and will be manned to-morrow. Assistant Paymaster Henry D. Smith, form- 
erly of the Dispatch, has been transferred to the Tallapoosa. In conversation 
this morning, Mr, Smith gave a description of the manner in Avhicli the vessel 
has been fitted out. A suite of rooms has been prepared expressly for the use 
of President Garfield in the event of its being found practicable to take him 
out on the water, when he becomes sufficiently strong to warrant his being 
moved from the Executive Mansion. The suite consists of four comparatively 
large rooms including a bed chamber, reception and ante-room, and a bath- 
room. Paymaster Smith says if it is determined to take the President on the 
vessel, a swinging bed will be hung in his chamber for the purpose of prevent- 
ing the patient from being annoyed by the motion of the vessel. A steam 
heating apparatus has also been placed in the President's quarters, whereby 
the four rooms can be kept perfectly dry and warm. This precaution is said 
to be principally for use during the continuance of foggy or damp weather. 
There can be nothing definite said as to what will be determined upon should 
the President rally sufficiently to be removed, but the attending surgeons have 
expressed themselves in favor of a trip on the water, providing the same 
should be found agreeable to the patient. 

Since the 12.30 P. M. bulletin there has been no material change in the Pres- 
ident's condition. At this hour he is doing very well. There is no more fever 
than was noted at the last official bulletin, and the patient is resting quietly. 

The febrile rise to-night it is not expected will reach as great a height as 
last night. The doctors think by to-morrow all the indications will be most 
assuring. 

Executive Mansion, 7 P. M.— After the noon bulletin was issued the 
President's condition continued as then reported until about 4 P. M., when 
the commencement of the afternoon febrile rise was noticed. In its degree it 
did not differ materially from that of yesterday. His pulse is now 108; tem- 
perature, 101.2 ; respiration, 19, 



97 

Assistant Secretary of State Hitt sent the following telegram to Minister 
Lowell at 9 o'clock last evening :— "The President's condition and progress con- 
tinue substantially the same this evening as yesterday." 

The President wrote a letter yesterday. It was to his mother, and brief. 
In it he spoke cheerfully of himself, and bade her to keep in good cheer, say- 
ing that he felt better, and thought he would recover. It was addressed and 
mailed by Mrs. Garfield. 

Executive Mansion, August 12, 7 P. M.— The President has passed a com- 
fortable day. At the evening dressing the wound was found to be doing well. 

The quantity of pus secreted is gradually diminishing ; its character is 
healthy. The rise of temperature this afternoon reached the same point as 
yesterday. At present the pulse is lOS ; temperature, 101.2 ; respiration, 19. 

Auqust 13.— The President to-day at noon was no worse than when the noon 
bulletin was issued yesterday. Last night, however, wvt,s a troubled one with 
the President, his sleep was broken, and the fever which comes on at night did 
not subside until this morning. Tliis the doctors have an explanation for. It 
appears that the dressing of the wound last night was not as thorough as it 
should have been. A quantity of pus was retained, and to this is ascribed the 
unfavorable night. "A small angle of the wound was not cleansed as it should 
have been" is the way a Cabinet officer put the case this morning- to ex-Secre- 
tary Bristow. 

8 :30 A. M.— The President did not sleep as well as usual during the early part ot 
the night. After midnight, however, his sleep was refreshing, and only broken at 
long intervals. This morning he has a little fever, nevertheless he expresses 
himself as feeling better than for several days past. Pulse. 104 ; temperature, 
100.8 ; respiration, 19.— D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Eobert 
Reyburn, Frank H. Hamilton. 

Soon after the morning bulletin came out, and subsequent to the morning 
di-essing of the wound, tlie President began to improve. His pulse and tem- 
perature receded, 

12:80 P. M.— The President has been cheerful and easy during the morning, 
and his temperature his fallen a little more than a degree and a half since the 
morning bulletin was issued. The wound is discharging healthy pus. His pulse 
is now 102 ; temperature, 99.2 ; respiration, 18.— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, 
J. K. Barnes, Eobert Reyburn, Frank H. Hamilton. 

2 P. M.— The fever indicated by the morning bulletin has been gradually 
subsiding and the patient at this hour is very comfortable. Private Secretary 
Brown says that the President is decidedly better at the present time than he 
has been during the past forty-eight hours, and that the fever apparently con- 
tinues to decrease. The day is extremely oppressive, but the President's 
apartments are kept comfortable by means of the cooled air which is forced 
into them, the temperature being about 80. General Swaim just said that 
the President is better now than he was at the same time yesterday, his pulse 
now being below 100 and his temperature about 90. 

At 3 o'clock this afternoon the doctors renewed their assurance that 
the President was doing well. They, of course, do not deny that he is ex- 
ceedingly weak, but they do say that w^hen the rally comes it will be permanent 
and froni thenceforward the improvement will be marked and notew^orthy. 
The President is said to be in excellent spirits. 

Executive -Mansion, August 14, 8:30 A. M.— The President slept well dur- 
ing the night, and this morning expresses himself as feeling comfortable. His 
temperature is one degree less than at the same hour yesterday; his general 
condition good. Pulse, 100; temperature, 99.8; respiration, 18. 

12:30 P. M.— The President has done well this morning, his temperature fall- 
ing one-half of a degree since the last bulletin was issued. At the morning 
dressing, the condition of the wound was found to be excellent, and the dis- 
charge of pus adequate and healthy. Pulse, 96; temperature, 90.3; respiration, 
18. 

6:30 P. M,— The condition of the President has not materially changed since 
noon. The afternoon febrile rise is about the same as yesterday. Pulse, 108; 
temperature, 100.8; respiration, 19. 

Amjust 15.— The condition of the President to-day does not seem to be quite 
as favorable as for some days past. The night with the patient was not a good 



98 

one. He had spasms of retching and vomiting. This, of course, weakened 
him and broke in on his sleep. This morning he was weak, with a rapid pulse 
and high temperature. The White House was early besieged to-day by a score or 
more of anxious newspaper correspondents. "When the noon bulletin was read. 
Private Secretary Brown remarked: "It is a favorable one." This showed 
though that the President's pulse had gone up to 118, yet the temperature had 
gone do^A^l from 100 and a fraction to 99 and a fraction. It was almost im- 
possible to see the doctors to-day. ISTot one of them had come into the room 
up to the hour the noon bulletin was issued. Of course, all kinds of alarming 
rumors were afloat. One was that another operation was being performed. 
Still another that the President was too weak to take food, and was being sus- 
tained by injections through the bowels. Private Secretary Brown gave flat 
denial to the first rumor, and the noon bulletin (as will l>e seen) contradicted 
the second, inasmuch as it set forth that the President had taken nourishment 
and that the wound continued to discharge. The following is the morning 
bulletin: 

8:30 A. M.— The President did not rest as well as usual last night until to- 
wards 3 o'clock. His sleep was not sound, and he awoke at short intervals. 
His stomach was irritable, and he vomited several times. About 3 o'clock he 
became composed, and slept well until after 7 this morning. His stomach is 
still irritable, and his temperature rather higher than yesterday morning. At 
present his pulse is 108; temperature, 100.2; respiration, 20.— D. W. Bliss, J. 
J. Woodward. J. K. Barnes, Robert Eeyburn, D. Hayes Agnew. 

11 A. M.— Private Secretary Brown reports, at this hour, tliat the President's 
condition has considerable improved since the oflicial bulletin of this morning 
was issued. He has taken a little nourishment which has been retained on his 
stomach. 

The President is said to be considerably better at this hour than when the 
morning bulletin was issued. He has taken some milk and a small quantity of 
beef extract. He has also partaken of some whisky with egg, all of which he 
has retained. In response to an inquiry as to the cause of the President's 
vomiting, Private Secretary Brown said that it was due entirely to a weak 
stomach, and while it was more or^less aggravated by the wound, that it could 
not be attributed solely to its effects. He added that the President contracted 
dyspepsia while he was in the army and had at no time since been entirely free 
from it, and that when he was in apparent good health he was oftentimes 
troubled with nausea. Mr. Brown says that the surgeons are not at all alarmed 
at the patient's present condition. During the last hour he has slept some and 
appears to be stronger. It having been intimated that the operation performed 
on Mondav last was in fact an attempt to remove the ball, Mr. Brown was 
asked if tlie story had any foundation. He replied that it was entirely er- 
roneous, and said that there was no immediate intention of disturbing the 
ball. 

12:30 P. M.— Since the last bulletin^ the President has not again vomited, 
and has been able to retain the nourishment administered. At the morning 
dressing the discharge of pus was free and of good character. Since then his 
pulse has been more frequent, but the temperature has fallen to a little below 
what it was at this time yesterday. At present his pulse is 118 ; temperature, 
99 ; respiration, 19.— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Robert Eey- 
burn, D. Hayes Agnew. 

When the noon bulletin was issued it created a great deal of uneasiness and 
anxiety throughout the city, and more especially so in the departments. The 
high pulse and reduced temperature was construed by many to mean that the 
President was in so weak a condition that he could not have fever. At the 
White House but little of the President's condition could be learned save 
what the bulletins themselves oflicially vouchsafed. It Avas known, though, 
that all the doctors were in attendance upon the distinguished patient. 

Shortly after 1 o'clock it was announced tliat the President was sleeping. 
The fact that he had not vomited at all to-day was accepted as a gratifying 
sign. Still but little else could be learned except tiiat the wound continued to 
discharge and was in good condition. 

The son of Dr. Bliss came out of the surgeons' room after 1 o'clock. He 
admitted the frequency of the President's pulse, but added that the reduced 
temperature was a favorable sign. It Avas noteworthy, however, about the 



99 

White House to-day that there was not that degree of confidence which has 
been manifested during the week. The stomach of the patient is giving the 
doctors anxiety. To-day, to allay it, small doses of sub-nitrate of bismuth 
were given. 

Those who have had advices from the sick room say that it is not denied that 
the President was nourished to-day by food injections. The doctors, however, 
are said not to be alarmed. They hold that the fact that all the conditions of 
the wound are satisfactory is evidence that it is only the rebellious stomach, 
and not the wound itself which is now complicating the case. What they want 
to do is to give the patient strength, and he is nourished through the bowels 
until his stomach is restored in tone to again take nourishment that way. To 
the bad night, the retching and vomiting is ascribed the frequency of the pulse 
noted in the noon bulletin. It is announced, too, that the doctors say that the 
pulse shows debilitation and not fever. Since morning the fever has subsided. 

2:15 P. M.— Much anxiety is exhibited throughout the city regarding the 
President's condition, and numbers of inquiries have been made at the Man- 
sion through the day. The feeling throughout the country was similarly man- 
ifested by the large numbers of press correspondents who called at the White 
House to receive the 12:30 P. M. bulletin for the respective papers which they 
represent. Aside from this, many requests for the "latest news" have been 
received from the several executive departments. The temperature and res- 
piration, as stated in the last bulletin, are generally conceded as favorable in- 
dications, but the pulse, which is given as 118, causes considerable uneasiness 
in the public mind. Since the issuance of the last bulletin it has been impossi- 
ble to confer directly with any of the attending surgeons. Attorney-General 
MacVeagh called a short time ago, and as he was leaviug the White House 
said, in reply to an interrogatory, that Dr. Agnew attributed the unusually 
high pulse to the weak condition of the patient, caused by the nausea with 
which he has been troubled. The Attorney-General said further that the sur- 
geons informed him that there were no indications of ''pus fever," and that 
they hoped they had overcome the trouble caused by the nausea. If no further 
trouble from nausea is experienced it is thought the patient will soon rally 
from the bad effects of the attack he has already had. 

The surgeons took the patient's pulse about 1:45 P. M., when it was 112, be- 
ing a decrease of 6 beats in less than two hours. At this hour Private Secre- 
tary Brown, who just came from the surgeons' room, says the pulse is still de- 
creasing. 

Up to 3 o'clock this afternoon all the doctors were still in the sick cham- 
ber. But very meager details leaked out. Those were, however, encouraging. 
Doctor Agnew told Sheriff Daggett that he was not without hope by any means. 
The alarm outside the White House is much grenter than it is in. All the 
Secretaries and attendants are hopeful that all is still well. 

Executive Mansion, August 15, 6:30 P. M.— The irritability of the Presi- 
dent's stomach returned during the afternoon, and he has vomited tlnve times 
since 1 o'clock. Although the afternoon rise of temperature is less than it has 
been for several days, the pulse and respiration are more frequent. So that his 
condition on the whole is less satisfactory. Pulse is now 130; temperature, 
99.6; respiration, 22.— D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Eobt. Key- 
burn, D. Hayes Agnew. 

LOAVELL, 'Minister, io?if7o)i;— President's condition less satisfactory. Irrita- 
bility of stomach returned. Vomited three times since 1 o'clock. Tempera- 
ture, 99.6, less than for several days; pulse, 130; respiration, 22. 

HiTT, Acting Secretary. 

The following was also sent last night: 

General R. B. Hayes, Fremont, Ohio:— Have reached another very serious 
point in the case. Conditions at this hour— 8 P. M.— are of a character that 
cause great anxiety. We hope for better things in the morning. 

H. C. COKBIK. 

Executive Mansiok, August 16, 8:30 A. M. -The President was somewhat 
restless and vomited several times during the early part of the night. Since 3 
o'clock this morning he has not vomited, and has slept tranquilly most of the 
time. Nutritous enemata are successf'illy employed to sustain him. Alto- 
gether, the symptoms appear less urgent than yesterday afternoon. At present 
his pulse is 110; temperature, 98.6; respiration, 18. — D. W. Bliss, J. J. Wood- 
ward, .J. K. Barnes, Eobert Eeyburn, D. Hayes Agnew. 



100 

The very guarded language of the physicians in comparing the condition of 
the President with his condition yesterday afternoon is a matter of comment. 
Still, the figures noting the condition of the pulse, temperature, and I'espira- 
tion, to the unprofessional mind, obviously indicate an improvement; and lead 
the public to give the most favorable interpretation to the language of the bul- 
letin. 

10:30 A. M,— Private Secretary Brown came from the surgeons' room a few- 
moments ago, and reportetl that the President was then sleeping. No mor- 
phia has yet been injected, and there has been no report of nausea since 3 A. 
M. Two enemata have been successfully administered since midnight. Sec- 
retary Brown says the morning dressing showed that the wound was in a per- 
fectly healthy condition. The members of the Cabinet arrived at various times 
during the early morning; Attorney-General MacVeagh, accompanied by Dr. 
Agnew, arriving at the Mansion about half -past seven. When he returned from 
the private part of the house, he expressed the opinion that while there was yet 
hope, the patient was certainly in a very critical condition. There is a notice- 
able despondent expression visible in those having access to the President's 
chamber, and the greatest reticence is observed, es])ecially by the attending 
surgeons, wiio do not enter the business portions of the house unless it is abso- 
lutely necessary. The despondent expression of Attorney- General MacVeagh 
was especially noticeable. Shortly after, 9 o'clock, the Cabinet officers, 
with tlie exception of Secretary Lincoln, who arrived at a later hour, having 
just returned from Xew York, left the AYhite House for their respective depart- 
ments. The day bids fair to be one of anxious waiting. 

The midday bulletin is looked forward to with intense interest. The opinion 
prevails at the Mansion, among those who are thoroughly conversant with tlie 
President's condition, that should the temperature after the noon dressing be 
below the normal point, and the pulse become more frequent, the gravity of 
the situation will be increased. If, on the other hand, the temperature should 
remain normal, or decrease a little, and the pulse still keep up, the situation 
will not be considered as materially changed. A stationary temperature and. 
an improved pulse would be the most favorable indications which could be had 
at the present time. Nothing directly from the sick-room has been received 
since the facts above stated. There are now but few visitors at the house, but 
the windows throughout the city in whicli the official bulletins are displayed 
indicate that there is a general feeling of anxiety throughout the city. 

As usual pending an anticipated crisis there are many rumors on the streets; 
such as " the pulse is rapidly increasing," " it is known that the President 
cannot recover," &c.. etc. While such stories may prove to be correct, .there 
is no foundation for them beyond what has been stated. 

From 11 o'clock until the 12:30 bulletin was issued no news could be got 
from the sick room except that the President was no worse. Secretary Win- 
dom and wife and Attorney-General MacVeagh and wife remained at the 
White tlouse until 11:30 o'clock. Secretary Windom said the case looked 
more favorable, but all that Attorney-General MacVeagh had to say was " He 
is no worse." Mrs. Doctor Edson, the faithful nurse, went on duty at 11 
o'clock. She would say nothing one way or the other. It was announced that 
the President was resting quietly, and that it was not the intention of the 
doctors to give him food until after the noon bulletin came out. 

At hdf-past eleven |o"clock Chin Lan Pin, the Chinese minister, and one of 
the attaches of the Chinese legation, called, dressed in full court costume. 
Their cards were sent to Mrs. Garfield and they were received in the Blue 
room. The object of the call was to convey to Mrs. Garfield a message from 
the Chinese emperor. 

The 12:30 bulletin, it seems to be generally agreed, was not nearly so reas- 
suring as had been hoped. It shows that while the pulse was frequent and in- 
creased since morning, that the temperature had fallen. This morning the 
bulletin registered temperature at OS.G. At noon it had fallen three-tenths to 
98.3, or below normal. This, some physicians say, indicates that there is 
nothing left for the fever to feed upon, and that the President's body is grow- 
ing cold. It must be borne in mind, too, that yesterday at noon, when the 
pulse ran up to US, its frequency was ascribed to the nausea and vomiting. 
To-day, however, tliere has been no vomiting since the issuance of the morn- 
ing bulletin. 



101 

Mr. Hitt just sent the following cablegram: 

Lowell, Minister, London: The President's condition causes great anx- 
iety. Restless and vomited early part of night. Tranquil to-day, but not 
rallied as much as hoped at 12:30. Pulse, 114 ; temperature, 98.3 ; respiration, 
18. Stomach refuses nourishment. Hitt, Acting Secretary. 

6:30 P. M.— The President's symptoms are still grave, yet he seems to have 
lost no ground during tlie day. His condition is, on the whole, rather better 
than yesterday. He has vomited but once during the afternoon. The enemata 
are retained. At present his pulse is 120; temperature, 98.9; respiration, 19.— 
D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Eobt. Reyburn, D. Hayes Agnew. 

Executive Mansion. August 17, 8:30 A. M.— The President has passed a 
tranquil niglit, sleeping most of the time. He continues to retain the enemata 
and has not vomited since the last bulletin . His general condition appears 
more hopeful than this time yesterday. Pulse, 110; temperature, 98.3; respira- 
tion, IS.— Prank PI. HamiltoJQ, D. Hayes Agnew, D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, 
J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn. 

After the issuance of the bulletin of last night the President did not grow 
worse. At midnight he retained upon his stomach cracked ice, and Dr. Bliss 
said that in the dressing of the Avound an area of granulation was found which 
was surprising, in view of the President's condition. Towards 1 o'clock 
everything about the White House was quiet. Dr. Hamilton arrived at 10 
o'clock last night, and is the guest of Attorney-General MacVeagh. The fact 
that the President has had no disturbance through the night encourages the 
doctors to say that they hope this day will prove more encouraging than yes- 
terday. 

The scenes at the White House last night were a repetition of those of the 
night before. There was, however, a deeper intensity apparent in the gloom 
and anxiety of members of the Cabinet and other prominent officials within 
doors, and in the wistful watching of the thousands of the populace who keep 
vigil on the pavement in front of the grounds. 

The same crowd of bureau officers, heads of departments, prominent army 
and navy men and members of the medical fraternity of Washington, which 
crowded Secretary Brown's room Monday night were present last night. 

Out of doors, immediately in front of the White House, and at every place a 
bulletin was displayed, the assembled crowds were even less confident as they 
were still more outspoken. The eagerness with which they watched every ap- 
pearance from the White House, and the earnestness with -which they plied 
each fresh arrival with^questions, were as strongly marked last night as on the 
night of the shooting. 

The medical attendants generally agree that the President is better to-day. 
Not only does Dr. Bliss say that the patient is somewhat better, but Dr. Agn^w 
assumes the responsibility of authorizing the same statement. Dr. Boynton, 
who has been conservative in all his utterances touching the President's con- 
dition, says that while the case is undoubtedly critical, it is by no means hope- 
less. Since the night bulletin was issued^ip to 11 o'clock to-day the President 
had not again vomited. 

Most of the time the patient sleeps. All that has been given him, however, 
for nearly thirty-six hours, except an occasional piece of cracked ice or water, 
has been administered by injection. The doctors feel now assured that the 
enemata are sustaining life, and that the rest which is given the stomach will 
fit it for holding food when it is decided to administer it in the natural way. 

Certain outside "medical experts " having vouchsafed the theory that the 
President is suffering with pyaemia or blood-poisoning. Doctor Bliss feels it 
incumbent upon him to vigorously deny it. The President has no such symp- 
toms. If he had, the medical men in attendance say, it would be made mani- 
fest by the color of the skin and breath. Dr. Bliss says there is no connection 
w^hatever between the Avound and the present troubles ; that the unfavorable 
symptoms are due entirely to the condition of the patient's stomach, and him- 
self and the other attending surgeons are confident that the treatment adopted 
would soon remedy this. In speaking of the President's appearance he said 
that when he was shot he weighed 210 pounds, but his confinement had reduced 
him to nearly 140 pounds. 



102 

While it is not conceded by those nearest tlie President that he is not in a 
critical condition, the fact that he is better than he was twenty-four hours ago in- 
spires hope. Indeed, the fact that he is still alive, of itself inspires hope. It 
is true he is now in a crucical stage of his illness, but instead of growing 
worse, he is growing, as Dr. Agnew says, "much better." 

At the White House this morning there was exceeding qu'et. Up to noon 
there were few callers, among them all the members of the Cabinet except 
Secretary Blaine. Kev. Dr. Power also came early in the morning and re- 
mained an hour or so. Captain Henry, the marshal of the District, also called. 
Yesterday Captain Henry left Mrs. Garfield, the mother of the President, at 
Mentor. He says while slie is apprehen-i^ e she is hopeful of the President's 
recovery. " The letter the President wrote his mother," the Captain says, 
" gave her much assurance. " 

10:30 A. M. — In conversation this morning on the President's condition, Dr. 
Boynton said the in'ospects were considerably brighter, and that the patient 
is resting comfortably. In reply to an inquiry, the doctor explained that the 
enemata, which were being administered, consisted principally of diluted 
extract of beef, a yolk of an egg and whisky, the whole being dis- 
solved and slightly heated. Dr. Bliss, in conversation on the same subject, 
stated that a small portion of muriatic acid was also a part of the enema. 
The latter gentleman expressed the opinion that the President's stomach was 
gradually becoming stronger, and referred to the fact that the nourishment 
was being retained as proof thereof. The doctor still remains hopeful, and 
says there is no reason for giving the President's case up yet. Dr. Boynton, 
in response to a question, regarding the President's taking nourishment in 
the regular manner, said it was possible that a very small quantity of di- 
luted beef extract, probably a teaspoonful. would be given him about noon ; it 
would depend, however, upon the patient's condition at that houi-. He has 
not been troubled with nausea since yesterday afternoon, at which time he 
threw off about a gill of liquid matter containing a quantity of bile. Dr. 
Boynton says IMrs. Garfield continues very hopeful, and feels rather more en- 
couraged to-day than she did yesterday. 

Up to 12 o'clock, there was nothing communicated from the sick room of a 
discouraging character. Colonel Eockwell, as he was passing into the White 
House about noon, said: "The President slept like a breeze last night, and he 
is going to get well." At noon. Dr. Bliss said: "The President is better than 
he was yesterday. The bulletin shows that." At the morning examination of 
the wound, its character was found to be satisfactory, and tlie discharge, 
although diminished, healthy. When Dr. Hamilton looked at the President 
this morning, he said he looked really better than he expected to find him. 

Throughout the city to-day there was less anxiety than yesterday, but every- 
thing that came from the White House was received with intense interest. 
The morning bulletin seemed to be accepted as offering more encouragement 
than that of yesterday. Soon after 12 o'clock. Assistant Secretary Hitt called 
at the White House with the announcement that Secretary Blaine was in J^ew 
York this morning, and would be here this afternoon. 

*" Up to the time the noon bulletin was issued, the doctors had not attempted 
to try the state of the President's stomach. It is probable they will, however, 
this afternoon with a preparation of beef in a weak state. The doctors think 
the stomach has improved in tone; but, of course, do not know whether it will 
perform its functions until the experiment is actually made. All the indica- 
tions up to noon indicated that, on the whole, to-day would be a better day with 
the President than yesterday. 

12:30 P. M.— The President's condition has not materially changed since the 
last bulletin. He has been trnnquil and slept some. Has not vomited, and 
the nutritive enemata are still retained. Pulse, 112-, temperature, 98.7; res- 
piration, 18.— D. Hayes Agnew, D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, F. H. Hamilton, 
J. K. Barnes, Kobert Eeyburn. 

The doctors say this bulletin is a favorable one. 

The members of the Cabinet are beginning to regain hope under the assur- 
ances from the doctors that the President has an even chance for his life. The 
only medication which is given the patient is the sub-nitrate of bismuth to re- 
store the stomach. 



103 

The noon bulletin was somewhat comforting. The pulse was more rapid by 
two beats than in the morning, but the increase of four-tenths in the tempera- 
ture indicated that the enemata which are being administered the President 
are sufficient to keep his temperature up for the present. The physicians to- 
day act as if they were a good deal more hopeful. The rumor is that this af- 
ternoon food will be given the patient, and if it is retained much of the grav- 
ity which now surrounds the case M'ill be dissipated. Should it not be, how- 
ever, the President's condition will continue critical. The doctors feel satis- 
fied that the wound is doing well, and that what they now have to do is to re- 
store the stomach. The experiment upon the stomach will be made with what 
is called peptonized beef. It is said that during the Presidential campaign, 
under the cares and anxieties of the canvass, his stomach gave out and that for 
weeks he ate but little. After the noon bulletin was issued the usual crowd of 
newspaper men and officials, who gather in the private secretary's room to hear 
it read, dispersed, and quiet was again resumed. 

Previous to the midday dressing, Dr. Agnew was asked the condition of the 
President, to which he responded: "He is better to-day." When questioned 
further, the doctor said, " There is nothing further to say than is contained in 
the bulletin, which is stated over my own, together with the signatures of the 
other surgeons." The doctor was pressed for a reply to the question as to 
whether he considered that the patient had an equal chance for recovery. He 
said: " It is a bad plan to speculate on chances: the bulletin tells the story that 
the President is better to-day. Good morning." 

2 P. M.— Dr. Bliss just came from the patient's room, and before leaving 
the Mansion said that the President had taken nourishment twice since the 
midday dressings, which occurred at 12:45 and 1:45. It consisted of cool infu- 
sion of beef mixed with a few drops of muriatic acid. 

The patient is given but about a teaspoonful at a time. What has been ad- 
ministered thus far has been retained, and the improvement anticipated by it 
has been realized. The President, shortly after the first dose was taken, ex- 
pressed himself as feeling better, and his pulse indicated great improvement, 
having become stronger and the number of beats materially decreased. The 
nourishment will be administered again about 3 o'clock P. M. The doctor is 
in excellent spirits and feels confident that the patient will now rally rapidly. 
The enemata are being continued as usual in addition to the other nourishment, 
and will not be dispensed with for the present. 

6:30 P. M. — The President's condition is even better than it was this morning. 
There has been no vomiting during the day, and the enemata continue to be 
retained. Moreover a teaspoonful of beef extract has twice been administered 
by the mouth and not rejected, and small quantities of water swallowed from 
time to time excite no nausea. The wound continues to do well. At present 
his pulse is 112; temperature, 9S.S; respiration, 18.— D. Hayes Agnew, F, H. 
Hamilton, D. AV. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Kobert Eeyburn. 

Secretary Blaine reached the city this afternoon on the limited express. In 
company with Mrs. Blaine he called at the White House at once and remained 
an hour or more. He said he was glad to get back; that when he heard of the 
President's relapse he was, of course, worried, but he was glad to savthe Presi- 
dent was not so bad as he expected to find him. 

The following dispatch was sent to London to-day: 

Lowell, Minister: At half-past four the physicians report the President as 
in better condition than at any time during the past forty-eight hours. He 
has retained a very small quantity of liquid food on his stomach. Hope is 
somewhat revived. Blaine, Secretary. 

The following dispatch was received to-day by Mrs. Garfield from Queen 
Victoria: 

Aurjust 17, 1881.— I am most anxious to know how the President is to-day, 
and to express my deep sympathy with you both. The Queen. 

To the above Mrs. Garfield sent the following reply: 
To Her Majesty, Queen Victoria, Osborne, England: 

Your Majesty's kind inquiry finds the President's condition changed for the 
better. In the judgment of his medical advisers there is strong hope of his 
recovery. His mind is entirely clear, and your Majesty's kind expression of 
sympathy are most grateful to him as they are gratefully acknowledged by me. 

LucRETiA K. Garfield. 



104 

Auqust 18, — The President's condition gives ground for hope. He is still in 
danger, hut there has heen a very perceptihle improvement in the last thirty- 
six hours. This morning- 's hulletin indicated that he was entirely free of fever 
at 8:30. His pulse is said to he stronger, and Dr. Boynton, who has heen very 
frank and plain in all his statements ahout the President, says he is slowly 
gaining strength from the enemata nourishment. The wound is healing rap- 
idly, and no longer gives any trouble. It is the President's Aveak stomach that 
now complicates the case. The improvement visible this inorning affords 
reason for believing that that difficulty is disappearing, and that the most 
serious aspect of the present crisis has passed. 

8:30 A. M. — The President has passed a most comfortable night, sleeping 
well the greater part of the time. There has been no further vomiting and 
the nutritive enemata are still retained. This morning his pulse is slowei", and 
his general condition better than yesterday at the same hour. Pulse. 104; tem- 
perature, 98.8; respiration. 17. — D. Hayes Agnew, Frank H. Hamilton, D. W. 
I31iss, J. K. Barnes. J. J. Woodward, Eobert Eej^burn. 

11 A. M.— The indications are that everything is progressing nicely in the 
sick room. Dr. Agnew, who left for Philadelphia on the limited express, will 
probably return to-morrow, in order that Dr. Hamilton may go to Xew York 
on Satvirday. Private Secretary Brown accompanied the doctor to the train, 
and says he talked very encouragingly of the President's chances. Previous 
to leaving the Mansion Dr. Agnew had a talk with Mrs. Garfield, and informed 
her that he felt perfectly secure in being temporarily absent, that if an emer- 
gency should occur' he could easily be summoned. SuC. At this hour the Presi- 
dent is resting quietly. About three-quarters of an hour ago he took a small 
qiiantity of koumiss, which was given him by his wife, as stated above. Up 
to this time no bad effects have been experienced from it, and the patient is 
sleeping. 

At 12 o'clock to-day General Swaim made the statement that the Presi- 
dent had been given nourishment througli the mouth four times, and had re- 
tained it. All the outward signs at the White House this morning are of the 
most cheering character. The long faces of the callers yesterday and the day 
before have given way to more cheery ones. The members of the Cabinet, the 
private secretary, and the attaches about the White House are decidedly in 
better spirits. When ex-Postmaster-General Jewell c illed to day he was given 
most gratifying assurances of the President's recuperation. Justice Harlan 
called at noon, and remained until the 12:.30 bulletin was issued. It did not 
come from the surgeons' room until 1:15 P. M. and was as follows: 

The President is suffering some discomfort this morning from commencing 
inflammation of the right parotid gland. In other respects his condition is 
somewhat improved, and especially his stomach is becoming less intolerant. 
He has asked for and retained several portions of liquid nourishment, much 
more than he could swallow yesterday. The nutritive enemata continue to be 
used with success. At present his pulse is 108 ; temperature, 98.4 ; respira- 
tion, 18.— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Eobert Eeyburn, Frank 
H. Hamilton. 

The new complication in the President's case announced in the bulletin as 
the " swelling of the parotid gland" causes an anxiety that after all there may 
be a slight poisoning of the blood. The parotid gland is the largest of the 
salivary glands, and is situated on the right side of the face, between the eye 
and immediately in front of the ear. It is the gland which is inflamed when 
cue has the mumps. The swelling, according to the bulletin, has only com- 
menced. The night bulletin will probably show to Avhat extent the doctors 
have been able to arrest it. 

2 P. M.— As Dr. Hamilton was leaving the White House ten minutes ago, 
he said, in response to the questions of a representative of the press, that he 
could not conveniently explain the cause of the inflammation of the parotid 
gland at that time; but he said it was perfectly proper to state that it was not 
an indication of any serious complication; was not an unusual occurrence in 
such cases, and that it caused no alarm whatever to the attending surgeons. 
The doctor then proceeded on his way to luncheon. 

2:45 P. M.— Dr. Bliss, in response 'to interrogatories on the subject of the 
inflammation of the President's parotid gland, agrees with Dr. Hamilton that 




Garfield's Physician*. 



105 

it is no occasion for alarm, and is not an unusual occurrence in cases where 
patients become greatly debilitated. He says it is not an indication of pyaemia 
or of fever. 

At the White House there is no alarm created by the new feature developed 
in the case. Colonel Corbin, who had a talk with Dr. Boynton, says that while 
the latter does not concede that there has been blood-poisoning, that even had 
there been, the SM'elling of the elands is an indication of the poison passing off. 

The following was sent this afternoon : 

Lowell, Minister, London: At 2 o'clock P. M. the President shows a 
slight improvement in his poAver to retain and digest food; but his general 
condition is not strongly reassuring. Blaine, Secretary. 

Dr. Agnew left this morning for Philadelphia on the limited express. AVhen 
his presence on the train became known, there was a general feeling of relief, 
as his departure indicated that there was no immediate danger to the Presi- 
dent, otherwise he would have remained here. 

The condition of the President is so much more favorable to-day than it Avas 
yesterday that strong hopes for his recovery are again revived. He spent last 
night comfortably, sleepingjtranquilly, and awoke very much refreshed. At the 
morning dressing of the wound, it was found to be in good condition. The 
discharge of pus had considerably decreased; but what there was was of a 
healthy character. About a half hour after the dressing, the President asked 
Mrs. Garfield, who sat by his side, if he could have some koumiss. As this 
gave indications that his stomach was in better tone than it had been, the doc- 
tors were greatly pleased. He was given two drachms of the preparation, 
which he seemed to relish exceedingly, and retained without any symptoms of 
nausea. Half hour later he was given a second administration, which was also 
retained. This gave assurance that the capricious stomach of the President 
was on the mend. The doctors have decided between 12 and 3 o'clock to again 
administer beef juice, which, if retained, will be given at intervals during the 
day. This voluntary desire of the President for food is a hopeful sign. 

August 19.— The President's condition to-day is better than any day since the 
unfavorable symptoms of Monday last. He had a continuous and refreshing 
sleep last night, and awoke this morning so much refreshed and better that it 
was noticed by the attendants even before the doctors made the morning exam- 
ination. The" glandular swelling is giving no trouble. The President is begin- 
ning to have an appetite, and the rebellious stomach is being restored in tone. 
The following bulletin, issued this morning, shows thf pulse to have dropped 
to 100, and the increased temperature, which was noticed last night, has gone 
down to the normal point, and, in fact, it is the most reassuring bulletin issued 
for a week: 

8:30 A. M.— The President slept much of the night, and this morning is 
more comfortable than yesterday. The swelling of the right parotid gland has 
not increased since yesterday afternoon, and is now free from pain. Nutritive 
enemata are still given with success, and liquid food has already this morning 
been swallowed and relished. Pulse, 100; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 17.— 
D. W. Bliss. J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert Eeyburn, Prank H. Ham- 
ilton. 

The members of the Cabinet all called this morning, and gathered renew ed 
hope from the very favorable conditions reported. The air of solemnity and 
anxiety noticed about the White House for a week past has been dispelled, and 
hope and good cheer have again penetrated the gloom. There is no danger of 
blood poisoning, as the outside doctors feared, and the President can now be 
said to be mending as rapidly, if net more so, than his physicians had reason 
to anticipate. Nourishment continues to be given him through the mouth, 
and it is retained upon his stomach without producing irritation. 

The work of the secretaries and clerks at the Executive Mansion has not 
abated at all during the President's illness, but the character of it is entirely 
changed. While there is no mail for the T>resident, that for Mrs. Garfield has 
grown as large as the official mail used to be. This has to be assorted, briefed, 
and filed, and replies have to be written to many of them. Hvmdreds of letters 
expressing sympathj'^or offering assistance in some shape or other are received 
every day. Then the officials are kept pretty constantly busy replying to ques- 
tions of newspaper reporters and other visitors. 



106 

10 A. M.— Everything is quiet about the White House, and tlie President is 
said to be resting comfortably. He still retains nourishment, which is admin- 
istered in small quantities at intervals. Tlie morning bulletin was received 
as an indication of improvement. 

11 A. M.— The President continues to do well. He partakes of nourishment 
more frequently, and the quantity is being gradually increased. The stomach 
offers no resistance, and the attending surgeons express themselves as very 
much gratified with the outlook. The inllammation of the right parotid gland 
is gradually subsiding. 

Executive Maksion, Awjusfi^, 12:30 P. M.— The President's condition has 
perceptibly improved during the last twenty-four hours. The parotid swelling 
is evidently diminishing and has not pained him since last night. He is taking 
to-day an increased quantity of liquid food by the mouth, which is relished and 
which produces no gastric irritation. Pulse, 106; temperature, 98.8; respira- 
tion, 17.— Erank H. Hamilton, D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, 
Robert Reyburn. 

The noon bulletin served to confirm oflficially the Hnofficial report from the 
sick chamber. The pulse had gone up somewhat since the morning examina- 
tion, but this is considered by the doctors as trivial. What is after all the most 
encouraging sign is that the liquid nourishment is retained. Up to the time 
the noon bulletin was issued the President had been given fifteen ounces of liquid 
nourishment through the mouth. So far as the parotid swelling is concerned, 
it now causes no alarm. It is being reduced and does not cause as much an- 
noyance to the President as it did yesterday. By the hopeful and smiling way 
in which Private Secretary Brown read the noon bulletin it seemed to give him 
genuine pleasure. Among the White House callers to-day were Major Morgan, 
Deputy Internal Revenue Commissioner Rogers, Justice Harlan. Rev. Dr. 
Power and others. 

Colonel Rockwell and General Swaim both say that Mrs. Garfield is now 
greatly encouraged. They report, too, that the President is better in every 
way. During the afternoon the administration of liquid nourishment through 
the mouth will be continued during the President's waking hours. As usual 
the President sleeps a good deal during the day, more especially in the after- 
noon. 

The following was sent this afternoon : 

Lowell, Minister, London: At half -past one o'clock the condition of the 
President is better than at any time during the past four days. There is an 
increase of hopeful feeling in regard to his recovery. Blaine, Secretary. 

Dr. Hamilton left in the 2:10 P. M. train for New York. Dr. Agnew is ex- 
pected to arrive to-night. Dr. Bliss says the patient continues to improve. 
During the day he had twenty ounces of beef extract administered by means of 
enemata, in addition to the sixteen ounces of koumiss and milk gruel taken 
naturally. 

Up to 3 o'clock there was nothing reported from the sick room to depress 
the assuring reports of the morning and midday bulletins. The President had 
slept some and had taken additional nourishment without producing irritability. 
The glandular swelling continued to be reduced and gave the President but 
little trouble and caused the doctors no anxiety. The White House at 3 o'clock 
was deserted by all, except the usual employees and attendants. There was a 
feeling of relief manifested, not only around the immediate sick room, but out- 
side as well. There we»e no crowds about the bulletin boards. 

So far as the wound is concerned, it continues to progress more favorably 
than the doctors hoped. The suppuration lias considerably diminished, but 
this is explained because it has healed within three inches of the orifice. The 
discharge continues to be liealthy in character. The fact that the stomach is 
slowly being repaired, gives the doctors renewed hope that the patient will now 
slowly but surely improve. Of course there are a number of dangers which yet 
beset the case, but the hopeful view taken by the doctors, the famil}^ and the 
attendants leads to the conclusion tliat the crisis has been passed. No solid 
nourishment will be given the President until there is an absence of all nausea. 
It is just possible, Dr. Boynton thinks, that there are traces of septicemia, but 
not of pyaemia. The President is represented to be quite hopeful that he is 
going to recover. 



107 

The clerks in the office of Colonel Eockwell get occasional messages from the 
Colonel regarding the President's condition. The messenger that arrived at 
noon to-day came in with his face all wreathed in smiles, and said: '"The Col- 
onel told me to tell j-ou that the President is all right. He is getting well."' 

The following commimication has been received from the Patriarch of the 
Armenians in Turkey: 

Mr. President: Providence, which watches over the days of virtuous men in 
the service of free countries, has saved the illustrious President of the United 
States from the cowardly attempt against his life. As a servant of the Arme- 
nian Church, who prays daily for all the chiefs of Christendom, I hasten to ex- 
press to you my most sincere felicitations. The Armenian Church, so little 
known in America, is an ancient church, which, in Asia and in the midst of 
non-Christian peoples, has observed with a heroic perseverance the Gospel of 
Christ and that spirit of religious tolerance which the Armenians consider as 
the basis of truly understood Christianity. This Church feels consolation in 
its misfortunes on seeing the fortunate liberty enjoyed by other Christian na- 
tions, and it rejoices in their prosperity. As a representative of the Arme- 
nians of Turkey I am happy to avail myself of this occasion, Mr. President, to 
be the channel of conveyance to yon of the sentiments of high admiration 
which my nation feels for 'the Government and the people of the United States 
— a government which realizes all the dreams of friends of liberty, and a people 
whose philanthropy obeys the highest precepts of religion and morality. In- 
voking the benedictions of Heaven upon you and upon the people, whose des- 
tinies you so nobly rule, and praying the All-powerful to hold your precious 
life in His keeping, I have the honor to be, Mr. President, your humble servant 
in the Lord Jesus Christ, Archbishop Nerces, 

Armeman Patriarchate. 

A recognized medical authority, writing of the parotid gland, says it is the larg- 
est of the salivary glands, seated under the ear and near the angle of the lower 
jaw. It is composed of many separate lobas, giving rise to excretory dvicts. which 
unite to form one canal, called the parotid duct, Steno's canal — the ductus supe- 
rior or superior salivary gland of some. This duct, after liaving advanced hori- 
zontally into the substance of the cheek, proceeds through an opening into the 
buccinator muscle, and terminates in the mouth opposiie the upper st^cond mo'aris. 
About the middle of its course, it sometimes receives the excretory duct of a glan- 
dular body, situate in its vicinity, and called the accessory gland of the parotid. 
In the substance of the parotid gland are found a number of branches of the facial 
nerve, of the transverse arteri.^s of the face and the posterior auricular. It re- 
ceives also some filaments from the inferior maxillary nerve and from the ascend- 
ing branches of the superficial cervical plexus. Its lymphatic vessels are some- 
what numerou?, and pass into ganglions situate at its surface or behind the angle 
of the jaw. The parotid secretes saliva, and pours it copiously into the mouth. 

6:30 P. M. — The President has done well during the day. He has taken addi- 
tional nourishment by the mouth th's afternoon with evident relish without subse- 
quent nausea. There is some rise of temperature, but his general condition is 
rather better than at this time yesterday. Pulse, 108 ; temperature, 100 ; respira- 
tion, 18. 

Secretary Blaine sent the following dispatch to Minister Lowell at 11:15 last 
night : 

The crndition of the President at 11 o'clock to-night shows improvement. He 
has swallowed, retained, and apparently digested nine ounces of liquid food during 
the day, asking for it himself and relishing it. The swelling of the parotid gland 
has created some uneasiness in the public mind, though it is not regarded as espe- 
cially discouragicg by his medical advisers. 

The whole amount subscribed to the Mrs. Girfield fund up to this titm is $155,- 
381. 

Aiigust'IO. — Saturday, since the President's illness, seems to have always been a 
day of anxlety,'and sometimes a critical day. To-day, however, seems to be an 
exception to the rule. The morning bulletin — printed below — was a most gratify- 
ing one, and seemed to greatly restore confidence. The President's pulse had 
gone down two beats since yesterday morning, but in other respects the fio;ures 
were the same as yesterday morning. The bulletin, though, was assuring, foras- 
much as it indicated no unfavorable symptoms, and the reports unofficially received 



108 

from the sick room were that the President was doing well; that his stomach was 
regaining tone, and that he continued to take and retain nourishing food. The 
swelling of the parotid gland had also subsided, and it was less painful, and in the 
opinion of the doctors it would not form an abscess, but scatter, and it v/as not 
believed it would appear elsewhere. 

7:45 A. M. — Dr. Bliss feels much encouraged at the condition he finds liis patient 
in this morning. He reports him having passed a comfortable night, sleeping con- 
siderably at intervals. About 7 o'clock this morning his pulse ranged at 98 and 
his temperature was apparently about normal. 

8:30 A. M. — The President has passed a quiet night and this morning his condi- 
tion does not difi'er materiall.y from what it was yesterday at the same hour. The 
swellir.g of the parotid gland is unchanged and[is free from pain. This morning his 
pulse is 98; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 18. — D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. 
Woodward, Robert Reyburu, D. Hayes Agnew. 

Just before the morning dressing occurred Dr. Bliss came into Private Secretary 
Brown's room. He said in reply to inquiries regarding the President, that he 
had passed a very comfortable night, that he slept from a half an hour to an hour 
at a time, and that the last twelve hours had shown considerable improvement. 
During a waking hour, about 1 o'clock, an enemata was administered, and about 
2 o'clock the patient took two ounces of milk gruel. After that he rested quietly 
until the doctors arose. Dr. Bliss saw the President for the first time during the 
night after daylight. The conversation with the surgeon was as follows : 

•'How is the patient, doctor?" 

"He has had a good night." 

"Then I suppose he is better?" 

"Oh, yes; he shows an improvement since yesterday. I saw him only a few 
moments ago. He was lying there as quietly as could be. I took his pulse; it 
was about 96." 

"How was his respiration, doctor?" 

"It could not have been more than 16; he was breathing so easily, and his skin 
was cool and moist." 

"Was the pulse firm?" 

"It was soft and clear." 

"The pulse will become more frequent after the morning dressing, I suppose?" 

"Yes, possibly three or four beats." 

"How is the parotid gland? Does it bother him much ?" 

"Did you ever have the mumps?" 

"Yes, sir." 

"Then you know something about how it troubles him. He cannot open his 
mouth wide at all times. He told me this morning that his mouth would not open 
but about half an inch." 

" Is it still swollen ?" 

"The swelling is not so much now, but the soreness affects the muscles of the 
jaw." 

"Doesn't it cause a collection of phlegm in the throat then?" 

" Oh, yes ; but he clears his throat so loudly that he can be heard in the next 
room. He told me just now that he thought if he should vomit it would clear the 
phlegm away. I told him that it was not necessary." 

On one occasion during the earl}'^ morning one who happened to be in the hall- 
way outside the door, near the President's bed, distinctly heard the patient ask 
Colonel Swaim for his handkerchief. When it was given him he cleared his throat 
and wiped his lips', and repeated the operation several times. 

During i\ further conversation with Dr. Bliss he talked in regard to a mistake 
which occurred in a telephone interview with him late last night I'egarding the 
use of an instrument in connection with the wound. He said he appears to have 
been understood to say that the flexible tube used for cleansing the wound had 
not been put into the wound further than three and a half inches. " What I in- 
tended to say," continued the doctor, "was that no probe had penetrated the 
wound beyond tliat depth." How far the flexible cleansing tube had been inserted 
he could not saj% but he would ascertain exactl}' and probably mention the fact in 
one of to-day's bulletins. 

Dr. Reyburn came into the room just as Dr. Bliss concluded, and said that the 
indications this morning were better than tliey had been for a week. 



109 

10 A. M. — Dr. W. H, Hawkes came to the Mansion about ten minutes ago, and 
desiring to obtain tlie exact conditior of the President, conferred with Dr. Boyn- 
ton, who stated that ''the patient is still better this morning, and everything is 
favorable." The feeling of reassurance is rapidly increasing. 

In response to an inquiry, Dr. Boynton said at 11 :15 A. M. that the President 
continues to improve slowly, and that everything is favorable. It is worthy of 
notice that the condition of the patient this morning, as shown by the 8:30 bulle- 
tin, was better so far as pulse, temperature and respiration are concerned than at 
any corresponding hour during the past eleven days. On the 9th of August the 
patient's pulse at the morning examination was 98; temperature, 99.8; respira- 
tion, 19. Since that time the pulse has never been below 100, morning or even- 
ing, until to- day, when it was again 98, with temperature and respiration corre- 
spondingly improved. It is hoped that this fall of pulse below 100 indicates a 
gradual return to the favorable conditions which existed about a week before the 
last operation. 

12:15 P. M. — The President has taken nourishment through the mouth several 
times to-day, and in considerable quantities. In all, he has swallowed about ten 
■ounces of koumiss and four ounces of milk gruel, without any indications of gas- 
tric disturbance. It nas not been thought prudent up to the present time to give 
him any other kinds of liquid food, but the juice of a beefsteak is being prepared 
and will be tried soon. If it be retained and assimilated, beef juice will hence- 
forth be given every day. An enema was also administered to the patient this 
forenoon, consisting of three and one-half ounces of beef extract, with the yolk 
of an e^^. 

The callers at the White House to-day were few. Of course, as is usual, all the 
members of the Cabinet dropped in at intervals. Representative Dezendorf, of 
Virginia, also called. About the White House there was an air of quiet, serenity, 
and confidence. The excitement of the last few days had entirely subsided, and 
everybody wore a more hopeful look. 

The 12.30 o'clock P. M. bulletin was not issued until 1.15 o'clock, and it is as 
follows : 

Executive Mansion, August 20, 12.30 P. M. — The President continues to do 
well. He is taking liquid food by the mouth in increased quantity and with relish. 
The nutritive enemata are still successfully given, but at longer intervals. His 
pulse is now 107; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 18. At the morning dressing 
the wound was looking well, and the pus discharged was of a healthy character. 
After the operation of August 8th the flexible tube used to wash out the wound at 
each dressing readily followed the track of the ball to the depth of three and a half 
or four inches. At the dressings, however, a small quantity of healthy pus came, 
as was believed, from the part of the track beyond this point, either spontaneously 
or after gentle pressure over the anterior surface of the right iliac region, but this 
deeper part of the track was not reached by the tube until yesterday morning, 
when the separation of a small slough permitted it to pass unresisted downward 
and forward for the distance of twelve and one-half inches from the external sur- 
face of the last incision. This facilitates the drainage and cleansing of the deeper 
parts of the wound, but has not been followed by any increase in the quantity of 
pus discharged. The large pus cavity which had formed in the immediate vicinity 
of the broken rib is filling up with healthy granulations, and the original wound 
of entrance, as far as that cavitj% has healed. — D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, Robert 
Reyburn, D. Hayes Agnew, J. J. Woodward. 

The delay in the issuance of the above bMlletin caused a gloomy foreboding 
among those anxiously waiting for it, that it would not be reassuring. Such, how- 
ever, did not prove to be the case. It took the doctors a good deal longer to pre- 
pare it ; that was all. The explanation set forth in it shows that the doctors are 
now able to reach the wound almost its entire depth, and can facilitate the drainage 
of the wound entire much better tlsan heretofore. 

At 1 o'clock the reports from the sick room were all of a most favorable charac- 
ter. The rebellious stomach seems to have become docile, and the pain from the 
glandular swelling is now insignificant. The wound, nenceforward in the dress- 
ing, will be explored and cleansed almost to its full depth. 

The noon bulletin happily set at rest the fear that the President was to have his 
usual bad Saturday. On the whole his condition is fully as favorable this after- 
noon as when the very favorable morning bulletin was issued. True, his pulse has 



1 no 

risen somewhat, but the doctors do not attach much importance to this incident. 
What gives them great encouragement is that the food given the patient is assim- 
ilating, and he is gaining strength. 

At 3 o'clock this afternoon the President had fallen to sleep, with Mrs. Edson 
and Colonel Rockwell watchers by the bedside. 

The following has just been sent by Secretary Blaine : 

Lowell, Minister^ London : At 2 o'clock P. M., all reports Indicate that the 
President's condition is about the same as yesterday. There is certainly no loss 
and there is no very marked gain. Blaine, Secretary. 

Dr. Hamilton will return here on Tuesday next to relieve Dr. Agnew, who 
desires to go home on that date, conditioned of ccurse if all the present favorable 
signs continue. 

The steady improvement in the President's condition for the past two days has 
again revived the hopes of his recovery, which existed prior to the last relapse. 
To-day's bulletins were very encouraging. They were waited for with a peculiar 
interest. The changes for the worse in the President's case hitherto have all occurred 
Friday night or Saturday, and tliis has caused a sort of superstitious feeling about 
the last day of the week. Yesterday the President took altogether about forty -six 
ounces of nourishment, without experiencing any nausea or unpleasantness 
whatever in consequence. The fact that he can take and digest food enough to 
impart strength, taken in connection with the rapid healing of the wound, is in- 
deed reassuring. 

The uneasiness produced by the Sunday reports from the White House disap- 
peared to some extent to-day by the more favorable indications set forth in the 
two bulletins printed below. Sunday with the national patient was a bad day. 
The first bulletin issued was not a good one, and there was no appearance for the 
better in the second. When the night bulletin came out, which announced the 
return of vomiting, there was general alarm, which had not fully subsided until 
the bulletin of this morning was issued. The vomiting yesterday was at 3 o'clock 
and at 5:30. The President's throat had been clogged during the day with phlegm, 
and in one of his eflbrts to relieve himself of it he brought on the first attack. It 
was rather severe and caused him to throw from his stomach the nourishment he 
had taken during the day. The second attack was less severe. The medical at- 
tendants say that the vomiting did not produce any gastric disturbance, but was 
brought about solely by the phlegm in the throat. Up to 11 o'clock last night 
there was a great deal of uneasiness about the White House. All of the members 
of the Cabinet were on hand, and the general surroundings were gloomy in the 
extreme. It was conceded that if the morrow did not mark an improvement the 
case had again reached a critical point. 

Happily after midnight the President, who had been restless, fell into a sound 
sleep. There was no return of the vomiting, and when the patient awoke this 
morning he was found to be much better. The glandular swelling gives the 
President much discomfort. The bulletin issued this morning was as follows : 

8:30 A. M. — The President has not vomited since j^esterday afternoon, and this 
morning has twice asked for and received a small quantity of fluid nourishment 
by the mouth. He slept more quietly during the night, and this morning his 
general condition is more encouraging than when the last bulletin was is^sued. 
Pulse, 104; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 18. — D. W. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. 
K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn, D. Hayes Agnew. 

The assurances contained in the morning bulletin that the stomach had reas- 
serted itself, and that other indications were no less satisfactorj^, raised the hopes 
of tlie det-pondent this morning. The night compared with the preceding one, 
was a comparatively .quiet one. The President woke frequently; but not so often 
as during the night before, tlie accumulation of phlegm being less troublesome. 
About 4 A. M., the President asked for liouraiss and a small quantity was given to 
him, which was retained by the stomach. The morning dressing showeil a nor- 
mal temperature and respiratioi-i; and the pulse two beats less than yesterday 
morning; tlie wound was found to be doing well, and the inflamed gland in about 
the same condition as last iiight. 

Dr. Reyburn said at 9 A. M: "Tlie swelling is no worse, and the general con- 
dition of tlie Prisident is a little better." The anxiety is somewhat lessened by 
the developments of the morning, but the gravity of the situation is still apparent. 

Up to 11 o'clock A. M., there had been no further disturbance of the stomach. 



Ill 

The President had also been a:iven liquid nourishment, including peptonized beef 
extract, which was retained. The usual enema was als > administered. If there 
should be no further stomachic disturbance, tlie doctors think the tone of the 
stomach will be slowly restored. The members of the Cabinet all called this morn- 
ing, and felt a great deal more hopeful than Ja^t night. General Sherman, Jus- 
tice Harlan and Rlv. Dr. Power were also among the callers. It is reported that 
the parotid swelling is painless. Dr. Reyburn is apprehensive that if suppuration 
ensues it may lead to grave complication?. Thus far while the doctors have kept 
ihe swelling stationary, they have not been able to scatter it. So far as the wound 
is concerned, it is said to be doing well. It is now cleansed thrice each day by 
the antiseptic process to the depth penetrated by the flexible rubber tube. 

The President's condition has not materially changed since the morning bulletin. 
There has been no recurrence of vomiting and the patient has taken a small quan- 
tity of milk porridge and .a little koumiss without nausea. It has been rumored 
that his mind has wandered at intervals, but this reported mental disturbance 
seems to have been nothing more than a slight Incoherence of speech immediately 
after awaking from sleep, before the senses were fully under control. It has not 
occurred at any other time, and is perhaps due to extreme weakness. The swell- 
ing of the parotid gland remains about stationary. The feeling at the Executive 
Mansion this forenoon is one of anxiety, but the general impression seems to be 
that there is no greater cause for alarm now than there has been for two or three 
days. 

Dr. Bliss reports, at 11.40 A. M., that the condition of the patent is slightly 
better than yesterday. There has been no nausea or vomiting since yesterday 
afternoon, and the stomach seems to be again resuming its functions. The patient 
has swallowed and retained, without discomfort, since morning, about twelve 
ounces of milk porridge and koumiss, and at 7 A. M. an enema of beef extract 
was administered. Another enema will be given about noon. There has been no 
change in the appearance of tlie parotid gland since yesterday, although there has 
been a further slight subsidence of the inflammation of the surrounding parts. 
The surgeons hope that they have the feature of the case under control, altliough 
they cannot yet speak with confidence. The gland may suppurate within the next 
three or four days, notwithstanding the measures whicli have been taken to reduce 
the inflammation. In that case the pus will be liberated by an incision just as 
soon as its existence becomes apparent. This will not necessarily involve great 
peril if the patient's strength can be sustained. The danger most to be appre- 
hended now, Dr. Bliss says, is exhaustion, and with this danger they hope to deal 
successfully unless the stomach entirely breaks down, Tlius to-day the indications 
are that that organ is improving in tone, and the secretion of plilegm in the throat 
has so far decreased that it gives the patient no especial annoyance, and he is re- 
lieved from the necessity of making such efi"orts to expel it as those which brought 
on the vomiting yesterday afternoon. Doctor Bliss says that the patient's pulse 
at 6 o'clock this morning was 98, and at half-past eleven 104. 

As the day progressed there was a more hopeful feeling apparent about the 
White House. Every visitor was impressed with the belief that the vomiting 
should not necessarily caiise great alarm as it was due entirely to nausea caused 
by tiie sickening mucous from the swollen gland getting into the throat. In all 
other respects tlie President was reported as getting along nicely. The noon bul- 
letin sustained the cheering reports received at intervals from the sick room. It 
was as follows : 

12.30 P. M. — The President has continued this morning to retain liquid nourisii- 
ment taken by the mouth, as well as by enema. There has been no recurrence 
of the vomiting and no nausea. The parotid swelling is not materially smaller, 
but continues painless, it has caused for a day or two an annoying accumulation 
of viscid mucous in the back of the mouth, but this sympton has now much abated. 
His pulse is 104 ; temperature, 98.4 ; respiration, 18. — D. Hayes Agnew, D. \V. 
Bliss, J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn, J. J. "Woodward. 

The above bulletin was considered not at all unfavorable. The pulse of the 
patient had not risen, and there was an improvement since morning, by reason of 
the fact that the President had retained twelve ounces of liquid nourishment. It 
was found, too, that the troublesome phlegm was not so annoying as yesterday. 
The parotid swelling still remains, but continues to be painless. Tiiere had been 
no recurrence of the vomiting. 



112 

2:10 P. M.— The President is passing a quiet afternoon, and f^Ieeps a good deal 
of the time. Up to the present hour he has swallowed and retained to-day twenty- 
four ounces of liquid nourishment; consisting of milit porridge and koumiss. He 
has also had two enemas, one at 9 o'clock A. M., and one soon after noon. No 
new unfavorable symptoms have appeared, and his general condition is about the 
same as at 12:30 o'clock. 

3 P. M. — The callers were few at the White House this afternoon, and such as 
came were assured by Private Secretary Brown that all was well. There had been 
no recurrence of the vomiting up to 3 o'clock, and the patient continued to be 
given nourishment through the mouth, which he retained. The phlegm in the 
throat gave the President less trouble. In brief, the President is much better than 
at this time yesterday, and is no worse than he was before the unfavorable symp- 
toms of yesterday set in. His pulse and temperature remain about the same as at 
noon. 

The following was sent this afternoon : 

Lowell, Minister^ London : The Prei-ident's condition has somewhat improved 
since the last report. He has not vomited for twenty-one hours, and during the 
forenoon has swallowed liquid food several times, in all about ten ounces. Weather 
very warm, but it does not affect him. Blaine, Secretary. 

The following bulletins were issued yesterday by the President's attending phy- 
sicians : 

Executive Mansion, Avgust 21, 8:30 A. M. — The President awoke more fre- 
quently than usual, yet slept sufficiently during the night, and appears comfort- 
able this morning. The parotid swelling is about the same, but is not painful. 
He took liquid nourishment by the mouth several times during the night, as well 
as this morning. Pulse, lOG ; temperature. 98.8; respiration, 18. 

12:30 P. M. — The President's condition is about the same as reported in the 
morning bulletin, except that tliere is a slight rise of temperature. He continues 
to take liquid nourishment by the mouth, as well as by enema. Pulse, 108; tem- 
perature 99.4; respiration, 18. 

6.30 P. M. — The President has vomited twice during the afternoon. The ad- 
ministration of food by the mouth has therefore again been ten)porarily suspended, 
and the nutritive enema will be given more frequently. His temperature and his 
pulse are ratht r less frequent than yesteraay afternoon. The parotid swelling is 
painless, but stationary. Pulse, 108 ; temperature, 99.2 ; respiration. 18. 

Secretary Blaine telegraphed to Minister Lowell last night as follows: "The 
President's .^leep last night was broken and unrestful. His symptoms through»ut 
the day have been less favorable, and his general condition is not encouraging. 
He is unable to retain food on his stomach, having vomited twice during the after- 
noon, the last time at 5 o'clock. This evening he has been able to drink water 
and retain it. The swelling of the parotid gland has not increased. Pulse and 
temperature about the same as yesterday. His sleep up to this hour (11 o'clock) is 
somewhat disturbed. We are all deepl}^ anxious." 

A Washington dispatch to the Boston Herald, dated August 20, says that Cap- 
tain Henry telegraphed as follows to friends in Ohio : ''The improvement of the 
President has been more tliau marked the past 24 hours; especially the tone of the 
stomach has improved, and this gives strength. Dr. Boynton has watched this 
feature of the case with the greatest care. The President has felt no sign of hun- 
ger for weeks until a trifle to-day. Even the wind has been favorable. During 
the past two days it has not blown from the Kidwell bottoms, but has come fresh 
and bracing from the north. Mrs. Garfield has been not only hopeful and cheer- 
ful during the day, but appeared happy. I told her of little A.be and Irve at Lawn- 
field— some things they said about 'papa's illness,' I told her of their little sun- 
browned hands and faces. The brave, womanly heart that had stood the terrible 
strain for weeks, melted to think of her dear little boys at home and papa and 
mama away from home, but longing to be there. For three or four weeKs pre- 
vious to last Monday the President often spoke of home. He longed to be at his 
Lawnfield home; to be in Cleveland; to walk do\vn Superior street, meeting and 
greeting old friends. He wanted to see Hiram and Solon, and Cousin Henry 
Boynton and some of Aunt Alpha's Indian bread again, an,' pick wintergreens on 
the hill. He wanted to see Burke and Harry, Mary and H^'ttie, and a score of 
others. He wanted to be in the shade of the maples at Captain Henrv's farm. 
He longed to be in Ohio, as he expressed it, 'on the old sod once more.' Thou- 



113 



sands upon thousands of familiar friends would appear before him as he lay on his 
bed of pain, On Monday, however, the pulse went up to 130, a feeble flutter. 
Since then he has been too weak to think much about old times, scenes and faces. 
While he is decidedly better than a few days ago, he is feeble and wasted.^ prob- 
ably 60 pounds of flesh has gone in seven weeks. The bullet-hole was 11$ inches 
deep, by actual measurement this morning as they washed it out. His strength is 
nearly wasted, but the little left has been increasing slowly and hopefully during 
the past two davs. If he continues to improve, I shall not consider him out oi 
danger for some time. To-day is the forty-ninth since he was shot. He is 4 J years 
old. I was troubled yesterday about to-day on account of the comcidence ot these 
numerals. A score or more of his old friends will understand why. rwenty-tive 
years ago he often said that he expected to die at 33, the age of his father when ne 
died. He passed 33, and then thought he would die at 42, the number of his regi- 
ment. His mind, however, to-day was too weaiy to be troubled about the appli- 
cation of facts and numerals. His faculties, however, are quite active, vvnen 
awake he is quick to see what is going on in the room. The grip of his hana is 
firm. He can hold aglass of water in his hand and carry it to his mouth wituout 
trembling. His voice has become natural since Monday. The pulse is tirm, ana 
his eyes brighter and more natural in expression. In these letters 1 have endea- 
vored to give a faithful picture of the condition of the President, such facts as 
would not be noticed by others, and, in the main, not attainable by the o^^'i^^^y 
methods of getting information. I believe the people have the right to near au 
the facts and incidents that would enable them to know the whole trutn. i cio 
not, however, distrust the doctors. I think they state the facts in their buiieuns, 
while the zeal and industry of newspaper correspondents in separating ttie cnan 
from the wheat and sending correct news awakens my admiration. ^^ ^im "P' 
let us bear in mind that our President is weak, sore, and in danger, ami tnat^ne 
must continue to improve for many days before he will be entirely out of danger. 

August 23.— The President was less restless last night than he was the night before. 
There has been no loss since vesterday,though there has been no gain . 1 he President 
was annoved during the night by phlegm in the throat, but there was not neces- 
sarily as much exertion to lift it. During the night he was given two enemata, 
and also took some nourishment by the mouth. This morning, in addition to kou- 
miss and milk porridge, he was given some of the juice of a steak, and seemed to 
relish all that was administered to him. Later this morning he was given some 
beef tea, and retained it on the stomach. The morning dressing sno^'f*,'^*^''^"'^ 
wound was repairing slowly. The swelling of the gland remains about the same. 
It is confined to the gland itself. The swelling is hard and clearly defined, mere 
are no evidences of its scattering. It cannot now be told whether suppuration wui 
ensue from the swelling, but there are no indications that the treatment adminis- 
tered has had the effect of preventing the act of suppuration. Dunng the tore- 
noon all that could be said of the President was that he is holding his ov/n. ine 
physicians in attendance say that such is the case, and all persons who have ac- 
cess to the sick room coincide with them. The stomach, the great point to be 
watched, is in better condition this morning than yesterday. The word Detter 
should, however, be qualified. The stomach is a little less capricious tlian yester- 
day, though it is by no means in a condition that could be wished for. Ihe Presi- 
dent's vitalitv, though considerably exhausted, is not as reduced as some reports 
have made it. He has considerable vitality left yet, though he is greatly emaci- 
ated and very weak indeed. The morning bulletin shows no material change in 
the patient. It is ^^s follows : 

8-30 A. M.— The President slept the greater part of the night, but awoke at fre- 
quent intervals. He has taken since last evening a larger quantity of liquid food 
by the mouth than in the corresponding hours of any day during the past week. 
The use of the nutrient enemata is continued at longer intervals. Ihe pai'otid 
swelling is unchanged. Pulse, 100; temperature, 9S.4; respiration, 18.— D. W. 
Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Eobert Reyburn, D. Hayes Agnew. 

11-30 A. M.— The condition of the President has not materially changed since 
yesterday afternoon, and is yet a subject of grave anxiety. The improved tone of 
the patipnt's stomach, which gave some encourgement to his attendants j-esterday, 
is still maintained, and this is the most hopeful feature of the case. He has taken 
this morning six and a half ounces of beef juice without nausea or any other symp- 
tom of gastric disturbance. Upon the continuance for several days at least of this 



114 

ability to talie and assimilate food, and upon the continued absence of further 
complications would seem to rest the patient's chances of recovery. If the wound 
continues to do well, if no serious consequences result from the swelling of the 
parotid gland, and if the stomach continues to take food enough to make good the 
waste caused by suppuration, there will at lea^t be improvement enough within 
the next four or five days to carry the patient to a high plane of vitality, and per- 
haps to put him on the road, although not on the su.e road, to recovery. The 
continuance of these favorable conditions, however, while universally hoped for, 
cannot be confidently predicted. 

About 11 o'clock the President took soae peptonized milk. There has been no 
disturbance of the stomach, and everything reported from the sick room is reas- 
suring. The peptonized milk contains the substance from chickens' stomachs, 
which, in its natural way, causes their strong digestion. The President's stomach 
lacking the digestive fluid in such a measure as is satisfactory, the peptonized milk 
is being administered to supply, if possible, the deficiency. The President is not 
delirious nor has he been. He is like other people who are suff"ering; upon waking 
there is a mental aberration for a few moments. The pain from the swollen gland 
causes his frequent wakings during the night. When consciousness has returned 
he is for a short time unable to fix anything in his mind. He does not know for 
that time who is by him or what is going on, and when spoken to just after he 
awakes sometimes does not understand or pay any attention to what is said. That 
is the extent of his delirium . 

At noon to-day there has been nothing new developed in regard to the President. 
No word had come from the sick room except by second-hand. The news received 
in that way stated that all was going on fairly, and that nothing unusual in the 
treatment of the patient, or in the progress of the case had appeared. There is 
anxiety of course. Sifting all that is heard from physicians, and from others, in 
regard to the President's case, the general result arrived at is that the President 
has a chance for recovery. That chance is not as well-defined nor as large in pro- 
portion as it has been since he received the bullet ; but still it is a chance. It is 
also evident that the full gravity of the situation is not appreciated either by the 
public as a rule or by those who are comparatively near the sick-room. The doc- 
tors certainly are to'be pitied. If they issue a good bulletin they are accused of 
keeping the worst back, or it is said that the President has never been as bad as 
has been represented. If, on the other hand, the builptin is not satisfactory, the 
doctors are said to be over-feeding the patient or doing something else to kill him 
as quickly as possible. 

Dr. Ellis Bliss said at noon that there had been an improvement during the day 
in the President's condition. It was an improvement that could be noticed readily. 
There had been no unusual occurrence in the sick-room during the day, he said, 
and nothing of any interest beyond the regular treatment of the patient had 
taken place. There had been no disturbance of any kind and not the slightest 
retrogressive symptoms. Of the midday bulletin, which is issued about an hour 
after noon, it was known beforehand that it would be favorable and would show 
that there had been some improvement in the President's condition. This news 
spread around generally and the bulletin was looked forward to without any fore- 
bodit)g. 

12:30 P. M.— The President continues to take by the mouth and retain an increased 
quantity of liquid food. At the morning dressing the wound looked well and the 
pus was of a healthy character. The mucous accumulations in the back of the 
mouth, on account of the parotid swelling, is less viscid, and now gives but little 
trouble. At present his pulse is 104; temperature, 98.9; respiration, 18.— D. W. 
Bliss, J. J. Woodward, J. K. Barnes, Kobert Reyburn. 
The following was sent this afternoon : 

Lowell. Minister, London: In the last twelve hours since 1 o'clock this morn- 
ing, the President has swallowed eighteen ami a half ounces of liquid food. He 
has had no nausea. The pulse and temperature not essentially changed. In the 
judgment of his physicians he has lost notliing since last dispatch. If there be any 
change it is for the "better. Blaine, Secretary. 

(Jp to 2 o'clock this afternoon the President had taken eighteen ounces of liquid 
food. The nourishment administered to him has been of a stronger character, 
including beef tea and peptonized milk. Dr. Bliss said that the only result from 
the increased nourishment was in the character and tone of the pulse. He said 



115 

also that the gland swelling was about the same in size and character as yesterday. 
He could not tell when suppuration from the gland mioht be expected. It might 
be three days before there was any change in the swelling. Dr. Bliss expressed 
himself as being satisfied with the progress of the President to-day. The Presi- 
dent has slept at intervals during the day, but not for any continuous long time. 

Executive Mansion, August 22, 6.30 P. M.— The President has continued to 
take nourishment in small quantities at stated intervals during the ent're day, and 
has had no return of nausea or vomiting. The nutriment enemata are also retained. 
The wound is looking well and the work of repair is going on in all positions 
exposed to view. The pus discharged is healthy. At present the pulse is 11 ; tem- 
perature, 100.1; respiration, 19. 

The following was sent last night : 

Lowell. Minister, London: The President has been able to swallow and retain 
about twenty ounces of liquid food to-day, showing a better state of the stomach, 
but his general condition is serious, if not critical. He is weak, exhausted, and 
emaciated, not weighing over one hundred and twenty-five or one hundred and 
thirty pounds. His weight when wounded was from two hundred and five to two 
hundred and ten pounds. His failure to regain strength is the one feature which 
gives special uneasiness and apprehension. Blaine, Secretary. 

The following correspondence by cable is furnished from the State Department : 

Rome, August 15. 

The Hon. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State, Washington: As the Holy 
Father learned with painful surprise and profound sorrow the horrid attempt of 
which the President of the Republic was the victim, so now he is happy to felici- 
tate his Excellency upon the news that his precious life is now out of danger, and 
will ever pray that God may grant him a speedy and complete recovery of his 
health and long spare him to 'the benefit of the United States. The undersigned 
has the honor to join in these sentimerts of sincere congratulations and wishes 
for complete recovery. L- Cardinal Jacobini. 

Washington, August 22, 1881. 
To His Eminence L. Cardinal Jacobini, Rome: 

Please convey to his Holiness the sincere thanks with which this Government 
received the kind expression of his prayerful interest in behalf of the stricken Presi- 
dent. Since your message was sent, the President's condition has been changed 
and we are now filled with anxiety, but not without hope. The President has 
been very deeply touched by the pious interest for his recovery shown by all the 
churches and by none more widely or more devotedlv than by those of the Roman 
Catholic communion. James G. Blaine, Secretary of State. 

Bishop Watterson, of Ohio, has issued a pastoral letter to the Catholic clergy of 
his diocese directing them to offer special prayers for the suffering President. 

Last night was a good one for the President. He slept well during the early 
part of the evening. At 11 o'clock he was awake from the restful ?leep of the ear- 
lier hours of the night. Shortly after 11 he again went to ^leep, and remained 
in that condition until between 2 and 3 o'clock this morning. The dressing of the 
wound this morning showed it to be in good condition. The discharge and char- 
acter of the pus was pronounced satisfactory. Dr. Hamilton, who arrived from 
New York last night, was present at the dressing. The morning's bulletin was a 
very good one indeed. It is as follows: 

Executive Mansion, August 23, S:30 A. M.— The President has passed a very 
good night, awakening at longer intervals than during several nights past. He 
continues to take liquid food bv tlie mouth, with more rolish and in such quantity 
that the enemata will be suspendfd for the present. Xo change has yet been 
observed in the parotid swelling. The other symptoms are quite as favorable as yes- 
terday. Pulse, 100; temperature, 98.5; respiration. 17.— D. W. Bliss, J. J. Wood- 
ward, J. K. Barnes, Robert Reyburn, Frank H. Hamilton. 

The White House was closed early last night. About 10 o'clock the offices were 
closed and the gas put out. The members of the Cabinet left just before the 
lights were extinguished and the newspaper men dispersed about the same time. 
This morning there were few callers except about bulletin time, when thev came 
for copies of that document. Secretary Windom^ Postmaster-General James, 



116 

Deputy-Commissioner Kogers and Warner M. Bateman called during the fore- 
noon. . . 

The President this morniuo; asked for food. He was given it and retained it on 
his stomach. About 3 o'clock this morning he was given five ounces of milk por- 
ridge. Again at 7 o'clock this morning, he was given liquid nourishment by the 
mouth. Up to 10:12 o'clock he had taken thirteen and a half ounces of nourish- 
ment, consisting of milk porridge, be^f juice aal peptonized milk. The stomach 
shows itself tu be in an improved condition— slightly improved, buc still there is an 
improvement. Tliere is less trouble to-day in clearing the throat. The mucous 
matter is given up without any rerciiing, and with apparently a comparatively 
slight effort on the patient's part. In short, there is to-day a general improvement 
outside the swollen gland. The condition of the gland causes some anxiety from 
the fear of weakening; cousequent upon suppuration which may set in. 

This morning about 3 o'clock Dr. Bliss went into the sick room. Dr. Boynton • 
was in attendance upon the President. Touching his forehead with his hand Dr. 
Bliss inquired: '■'• Have you noticed any disturbance here? " The President heard 
the question and said : '' What disturbance do you mean ? " Dr. Bliss turned the 
inquiry away by saying, '• disuirb.inc^ of the t;ir>at." Afterivards Dr. Boynton 
told Dr. Bliss that there had been no mental disturbance. That the President 
should take Dr. Bliss up so readily when he made this inquiry was a good enough 
sign that his mind was clear. 

Signs of suppuration in the swollen gland.— This afternoon there seems to be no 
doubt but that the gradular s ^veiling will suppurate. The signs of it noted this morn- 
ing have become more strongly marked. The softening is increasing and it is evident 
that there must be a drainage of accumulated matter from the gland. The doctors 
do not say when the drainage will commence. Dr. Bliss does not fear any«seriou3 
results from suppuration. He says that he thinks the accumulation can be drained 
without causing any great disturbance to the patient or setting him back materially. 
He thinks that the drainage can be accomplished completely in five days after it 
commences, and that at the end of that time the swelling and its results will have 
entirely disappeared. It is evident, however, that there is considerable anxiety in 
regard to the culaiiiiatii>n of the glandular complications and the etfects that its 
suppuration may have on the patient. 

Dr. Bliss is quoted on the streets as having told a friend last night that every- 
thing that could be done oy human beings had been resorted to by the attending 
surgeons, to scatter the swelling of the President's parotid gland, but it did not 
appear to yield, and that suppuration seemed inevitable. The doctor thought, 
however, it is said, that the discharge would be comparatively light. 

10.20 A. M.— The attendants of the President report this morning that the latter 
had a very quiet, comfortable night, sleeping longer at a time than heretofore, and 
showing less restlessne-s. Before the morning examination he expressed a desire 
for food, and Doctor Bliss warmed slightly and gave to him about four ounces of 
beef extract, which he swallowed with apparent satisfaction. In a brief inter- 
view witii a reporter of the Associated Press, afterthc morning bulletin appeared, 
Dr. Bliss said that the President had had a very good night and was doing well. 
The glandular swelling had not, he said, preceptihly changed in appearance yester- 
day, "but he thought it seemed a very little softer to the toucii. The wound con- 
tinued to pivsent a healthy and in every way a satisfactory appearance. Generally 
speaking the patient's.'conditon this forenoon is about the same as la«t evening. 
The slight improvement which was then noted is fully maintained, and there has 
been a little additional gain in the capacitv for nourishment. 

At 11 o'clock there had been no change since the bulletin was issued. The 
reports from the sick-room were cheering, and there was no evidence anywhere 
about the White House that grave apprehension was felt. The only change 
that was marked in the President's condition up to noon was in the swollen 
gland. Tiie swelling was softer than yesterday. The touch it gave was slightly 
yielding instead of the hard resistance which was its unchanged feature yes- 
terday. This softening is a sign of suppuration. It is not, however, yet cer- 
tain that there will be suppuration, or that the efforts to scatter the matter and 
prevent that phase of parotid swelling will not be successful. The danger in 
the suppuration, of which tliere is already evidence, as stated, lies in the fact 
that the drainage of the matter would likely result in a further weakening of 
the President. His vitality is now so very low that any further strain on it, 
even of the slightest character, would be attended by dangers not to be esti- 
mated. 



117 



Ifnrwns not as favorable as the one issued this morning, but there is uotmng 
• fh^iP- St Sarmino The President's condition was slightly improved as 

ture 99 2- respiration, 1/. — D. W. isliss, J. d. v> uouwciiu, « j-v , 

''leSif WM«n?c?me°'t; the AVIute House again this afternoon He 

fs made The stay of the Sctors was due to the condition of the swollen pa- 
is maae. /"^f '^^ "._,,„ . ^„ i,j,,.e such marked evidences of suppuration that 
'■?^'i ^^ fppidPd to open f^^ie knife wis used and an incision made by cutting, 

S1»t,r;4rri^;t^js;s°siss:^^ 

'■^SfH^on PSea the ope.^tlon, being im:itecUo <,os„ I'X «- ftesiclent 

iillgliiiifEiSis 

104. The patient is now resting quietly and his gf^^\?^^?^^^-Xtlhat there will 

K?sitS;'iS!;9'rsi5|ngSr«£^ 

SSrf^Krol*c^S'ifii\'"nM^^^^ 

afternoon the day, so tar as the days ';.»«,?°f„'',^%^„<'™t aww fidm the White 
n^^-^^X^^^^^ Xrnt*s"tr|o=r the river on the 



118 

Tallapoosa or to Mentor. He never speaks of the Soldiers* Home. To-day he 
asked Dr. Bliss if he could be removed by cold weather. Dr. Bliss told him 
that he would be removed as soon as his stomach was all right. "It's all right 
now," said the President, " I want to get away. If we can't go to Mentor I 
want to go down the river on the Tallapoosa. " 

The following was sent this afternoon : 

Lowell, Minister, London: According to the opinion of his physicians, 
there is no marked change in the President's condition since last dispatch. 
At this hour, half past one o'clock P. M., there is some indication of an in- 
crease of fever, Mliich they say is in part caused by the increased heat of the 
day. He continues to take liquid food and does not seem troubled by nausea 
or indigestion. Blaine, Secretary. 

Executive Mansion, August 23, 6:30 P. M. — The President has continued 
to take liquid food l)y the mouth at regular intervals during the da\% and has 
had no recurrence of gastric disorder. The parotid swelling remains unchanged. 
In other respects the symptoms show some improvement over his condition 
yesterday afternoon. Pulse, 104; temperature, 99.2; respiration, 19. 

Secretary Blaine sent the following cablegram to Minister Lowell last night: 
"The President's condition is more encouraging than it was at .this time last 
night. During the last twenty-four hours he has sw^allowed ten ounces extract 
of beef and eighteen ounces of milk, retaining and digesting both. He has 
twice asked for food, which he has not done before for several days. Pulse and 
temperature are both somewhat lower. The swelling of the parotid gland has 
not specially changed. Its long continuance at present stage increases the 
fear of suppuration. At this hour, 11 o'clock, physicians report that the Presi- 
dent has rested quietly the entire evening." 

Dr. D. Hayes Agnew, the senior of the consulting surgeons, was to have 
been relieved at the President's bedside yesterday by Dr. Hamilton, and after 
the morning examination he left the Executive Mansion for Philadelphia. To 
a Press reporter, who found him on the sunny lawn of his home at Haverford 
late yesterday afternoon, the eminent surgeon seemed in better spirits than at 
any time since the unfavorable change in the President's condition more than 
a week ago. He asked what the noon bulletin from the White House had con- 
tained, and added that there was very little to be said in addition to what the 
attending physicians regularly reported of the President's condition. The 
public, he said, had been led within a day or two to magnify the new danger 
the President was in and to fear a sudden change for the worse, which the 
physicians had not looked for. Replying to the assertion of his visitor that 
many persons who held the President's recovery very near at heart, had never 
given up hope until now, Dr. Agnew said it was equally true that many people 
had hardly realized before now that the President was very badly wounded, and 
thatthe injury might almost at any time have caused his death. It was only 
within a short time that the wound had passed, its most aggravated stage, a 
stage which was inevitably attended with great weakness and debility, followed 
by a period of Wmost complete prostration. 

"It is necessary," said Dr. Agnew, " for a patient so wounded to reach the 
bottom of the ladder before he begins to ascend it again to the high ground of 
restored health. That period of complete prostration through wliich lie is pass- 
ing was complicated by the failure of the stomach. That has been partially 
restored to strength, and now it is a question of the staying powers of the 
President and of his recuperative forces whether he shall advance toward con- 
valescence." 

" Secretary Blaine, in his official dispatches last night, spoke of the Presi- 
dent's exhausted and emaciated condition, and said plainly that his failure to 
regain strength was the one feature which gave special uneasiness and appre- 
heiision. Is this extreme weakness which the Secretary of State refers to ac- 
counted for and prolonged solely by the stomachic trouble of the past ten days? " 

" That and septicaemia. The amputation of a limb is followed by a sort of 
wound fever, whicli is sometimes called surgeon's fever. The President's 
wound has caused tliis same continued low fever, which the whole system is 
fighting against and which will decrease if the stomach continues to receive 
necessary nourishment. " 

" There are no indications of malarial fever?" 



119 

" Not any. "With particular care I have looked out for that. There are no 
traces of malaria at the "White House, nor could I find that any one who had 
ever lived near the Executive Mansion had heen affected with it in the past. 
The sick room is perfectly comfortable and healthy. The temperature may be 
reduced almost to any degree bv the refrigerator apparatus, and the chamber 
where the President lies is by far the most comfortable place I have been in at 
all." 

"Are there fears of new complications from the swollen parotid gland? Dis- 
patches from "Washington anticipate another operation." 

"It may become necessary to open an abscess if the inflammation develops 
to that point, but it would hardly be called an operation. The soreness came 
from the impoverished condition of the blood, but the danger of the present 
inflammation from that cause has been magnified by unofficial dispatches." 

" It has been stated that the President's mental faculties have at last suc- 
cumbed to the assaults of the wound and the failing strength of the system, 
and that his mind has become partially if not wholly obscured." 

Dr. Agnew replied that the patient was very weak and emaciated, but that 
his mind was quite as clear as it has ever been. He was the first to know the 
residt of the physicians' examination which precedes every bulletin. He talks 
very little to his attendants, but no one in the sick-room knew better than he 
what was going on about him. All that he says is spoken as rationally as Dr. 
Agnew was himself talking at that moment. 

•' It has been stated, too, that the attending physicians withhold from the 
public many dangerous s^miptoms which transpire in the sick-room? " 

" It is not true," said Dr. Agnew, " that the physicians know much more 
than i^ communicated through the bulletins." Prom private interviews with 
the physicians correspondents at "Washington, he said, had gathered hints 
of a new complication in the President's illness, as in the case of septicaemia, 
before it had been announced in the bulletins. Correspondents jumped at con- 
clusions. The physicians did not conjecture anything. Septicaemia was an- 
nounced in private dispatches several hours before those dispatches were In- 
dorsed by the bulletins. 

" You may say," concluded Dr. Agnew, "that the case is by no means hope- 
less ; that we do not anticipate any sudden change either for the worse or 
better; that our hopes are based upon the recuperative power of the President 
and the restored strength of his stomach to bring renewed vigor, and if in the 
end his improvement is permanent that his convalescense will be a very lorg 
one." . ^ ^ 

Dr. Agnew spoke guardedly and with that reserve which the distinguished 
surgeon has shown from the first, and which has given so much weight to 
every encouraging word that he has vouchsafed since his first summons to 
the President's bedside seven weeks ago. He will not return to "Washington 
until Saturday, unless he is summoned thither by the attending physicians in 
the meantime. 

August 24.— The President did not pass what might be called a good night. 
There was much pain around the swollen gland. The swelling has not dimin- 
ished any since the incision made yesterday. Thi> shows that other matter 
is collecting, and that the drainage through the incision will have to go on as 
the accumulations reach a quantity sufficient to be evacuated. "While the 
President slept most of last night it was not a refreshing sleep, nor were his 
slumbers at any time continuous for any extended period. The stomach con- 
tinued to be in an unrebellious state during the night, and the reports from 
the sick room this morning are that it shows no oapriciousness now. The 
President is not as strong to-day as he was yesterday. There has been a 
wasting which, though slow, is unmistakable. This wasting has been very 
perceptible during the past ten days ; it has not on any day during that time 
been fully checked. The 8.30 bulletin of this morning was rather unfavorable 
as compared with the bulletin issued at the same hour yesterday. The pulse 
this morning is six beats higher than yesterday ; the temperature is the same, 
and respiration yesterday at^8.30 was 17, while to-day it was 18. The foUowing 
is the bulletin : 

The President slept most of the night. He has taken liquid food by the mouth 
at stated intervals, and in suflacient quantity, so that the enemata have not been 



120 

renewed. No modification of the parotid swelling has been observed. His gene- 
ral condition is much the same as at this time yesterday. Pulse, 106 ; tempera- 
ture, 98.0 ; respiration, 18. — D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, Frank H. Hamilton, J. J. 
Woodward, Kobert Keyburn, D. Hayes i^gnew. 

As Dr. Bliss stated in his dispatch, asking Dr. Agnew to return to Washington, 
the object of his desired presence was to co';snlt and decide whether the President 
should be removed or not. The President himself brought on the agifation of that 
question. He is most anxious to go somewhere, but not to the Soldiers' Home, 
He will not think of that. During the past three days his demands for removal have 
been frequent and almost imperative. He has been very restless over t!ie subject, and 
his determination to be taken to another place has been the cause of much concern 
in the sick room. Upon that subject alone he has refused to listen to his attend- 
ants and the doctors. He would not pay any attention whatever to the state- 
ments that it was impossible to take him away from the Whits Hou5e. After he 
had been told that he could not be removed, he would not be in the least convinced, 
but would still as persistently and earnestly say, that he must get away. Mentor 
is where he w^ants to go. Next he wants to be tak^n on board the Tallapoosa to 
salt water. He is very anxious to get to the ocean. His persistencv in that di- 
rection is to be explained by the fact salt water has always agreed remarkably 
well with the President. Whenever he went upon a sea voyage he was always 
greatly benefitted thereby. The salt water never failed to benefit the dyspepsia 
from which he had been a sufl'erer. In consulting upon the question of his remov- 
al there was a disagreement among the surgeons last night and no conclusion was 
reached. 

This morning after the issuance of the 8.30 o't^lock bulletin there was a further 
consultation on the same subject. It was decided not to remove the President. 
Again this morning there was a division of opinion. Dr. Hamilton was in favor 
of removal and advocated a sea voyage. Dr. Bliss was of the opinion that the 
President should be taken to the Soldiers' Home. The others were of the opinion 
that there should be no removal, and Dr. Bliss was against a trip down the river. 
From these opinions the conclusion that no removal should be mad.^ at present 
was arrived at. Upon one thing, however, there was perfect unanimity ; all the 
physicians concurred that there was no malaria in the President's system, and 
that there had been none. The result of the consultation as to removal was given 
official announcement in the issuance of the foUowhig special bulletin : 

Executive Mansion, August 25, 9.15 A. M.— The subject of the removal of 
the President from Washington at the present time was earnestly considered by 
us last night and again this morning. After mature deliberation the conclusion 
was arrived at by the majority that it would not now be prudent, although all 
agree that it will be very desirable at the earliest time at which his condition may 
warrant it. We are, moreover, unanimously of the opinion that at no time since 
the injury has the President exhibited any symptoms of malaria. — Frank H. Ham- 
ilton, D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, D. Hayes Agnew, J. J. Woodward, Kobert 
Reyburn. 

Mrs. Dr. Edson in conversation with Dr. Tindall, secretary to the District Com- 
missioners, last evening stated that in her judgment there is very little hope for 
the recovery of the President unless he is removed from the President's house ; 
that she has been of this opinion for some time past and has not been backward in 
expressing herself upon this subject, and that the President himself is convinced 
that a change of place and air is necessary. His constant and extreme longing 
for such a change has a verv wearing and depressing elFect upon his health and 
spirits, under which he is daily losing flesh. 

General Sherman has had a number of stout soMiers drilled in carrying people 
on stretchers with a view to their employment in the work of removing the Presi- 
dent, should it be decided to change his location. These men have become very 
expert and methodical in their movements. They have so far been perfected that 
their steady tread and uniformity of movement will not disturb the water in a 
glass held by the hand of an 150-pound man lying on the stretcher. These men 
would undoubtedly be called into service should the President grow strong enough 
to be removed. 

The old mansion at Arlington has been offered as a place to which th e Presi- 
dent can be removed. A widow lady, who has control of the house, has written 
saying that the whole mansion will be placed at the disposal of ttie President and 




James G. Blaine. 



121 

fitted upfor his comfort and reception if it should be decided to remove'him thither. 
Of course, it having been decided not to remove him, the invitation cannot be 
accepted. There at-e, however, many who think that tlie admirably located old 
house is a very desirable location for the President, and one which would be bet- 
ter suited to his condition than either a trip down the river or removal to 
Menteror the b'oldiers' Home. 

10:20 A. M. — Doctor Bliss reports that the condition of the President this fore- 
noon is about the same as yesterday forenoon, except that his pulse is a little 
higher. He was somewhat restless at times during the night, and did not sleep 
quite as well as on Tuesday night. There has been no perceptible chang-e in the 
appearance of the inflamed parotid gland, and two or three days may elapse before 
the swelling subsides. Taking everything into consideration, the patient has not 
gained any ground since yesterday morning. 

Dr. Boynton said this morning that the stomach was all right and doing admir- 
ably. Tbe President had taken about the same amount of beef-juice and pepton- 
ized milk as yestei-day. Still, however, in Dr. Boynton's opinion the President is 
not in quite as good a condition as he was yesterday. There has been no very 
marked change, but the change, if any, was, in his opinion, for the w.orse. He 
did not feel as much encouraged to-day as he did yesterday. If the patient can 
maintain his strength, the slight poisoning of the system will be eliminated. The 
question is, can the strength be maintained? Dr. Bliss, this morning, seems to 
think that if there has been any change since yesterday it has not been a change 
for the better. 

That the forenoon was not as comfortable for the President to-day as yesterday, 
and that the President's condition was not as good, was fully shown by the mid- 
day bulletin. The President was more feverish during the morning, and his gen- 
eral condition has continued to be not that of a man improving, or even that of a 
man holding his own. Compared with the midday bulletin yesterday, the pulse 
to-day is 8 beats higher ; the temperature is the same — 99.2, and the respiration is 
two points more frequent. There is a general air of discouragement around the 
White House to-day. This was not shown so much in what was said as in what 
was left unsaid. Compared with this morning's bulletins, there was a rise from 
106 to 112 in pulse, an increase from 98.5 to 99. 2 in temperature, and from 18 to 
19 in respiration. All things considered, there was at 12 o'clock a great deal of 
anxiety as to tlie condition of the patient. The noon bulletin was as follows : 

Since the issue of this morning's bulletin a rise in the President's temperature, ■ 
similar to that which occurred yesterday morning, has been observed. His pulse 
is somewhat more frequent. From the incision in the parotid swelling a few drops 
of pus were discharged this morning; the size of the swelling has not diminished. 
In other i-espects his condition has not perceptibly changed. Pitlse, 112 ; tempera- 
ture, 99.2; respiration, 19. — D. W. Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert 
Reyburn, Frank H, Hamilton. 

At 3 o'clock this afternoon there had been no change reported from the sick 
room, except the statement made at that time by Dr. Bliss that the President was 
slightly better than this morning. 

Secretary Blaine's midnight dispatch to Minister Lowell told pretty clearly the 
anxious feeling, amounting almost to dread. It was as follows : 

"The President has not gained to-day. He has had a high fever, which began 
earlier than is usual with his febrile rise. In the afternoon an incision was made 
in the swollen parotid gland by Dr. Hamilton. The flow of pus therefrom was 
small. The one favorable symptom of his swallowing liquid food with apparent 
relish and digestion has continued, but the general feeling up to midnight is one 
of increased anxiety." 

The following was the 6.30 A. M. bulletin : 

" Shortly after the noon bulletin was issued an incision was made on the right 
side of the President's face for the purpose of relieving the tension of the swollen 
parotid gland and of giving vent to pus, a small quantity of which was evacuated. 
He has taken a larger quantity of liquid food by the mouth to-day than yesterday, 
and has been entirely free from nausea. His temperature this afternoon is, how- 
ever, higher than yesterday at the same hour, and his pulse somewhat more fre- 
quent. Pulse, 108 ; temperature, 100.7 ; respiration, 19. 

August 26. — The gravity of the situation at the White House yesterday grew on 
the immediate official family with an almost imperceptible, but terribly certain 
9 



122 

advance. The street stories were not so wild as usual, but the dread fact appeared 
to impress all with its solemn truth that the President was slowly neariug the end 
of his long and heroic struggle with fate. 

There were grave apprehensions afloat in the city in the morning on account of 
the apparent mystery of Wednesday night's proceedings. The impression seemed to 
gain ground that the summons to Dr. Agnew, while its principal object was stated, 
meant more than that. The tenor of Secretary Blaine's late cablegram to London 
showed how anxious he wais. The conference of the doctors was devoted almost 
exclusively to the consideration of the question of removal. It was found that no 
conclusion could be reached then, and the Cabinet were informed that the matter 
could not be decided until morning. 

The morning bulletin was issued at the usual hour. Its contents were as fol- 
lows: " The President slept most of the night. He has taken liquid food by the 
mouth at stated intervals, and in sufficient quantity so that the enemata have not 
been renewed. No modification of the parotid swelling has been observed. His 
general condition is much tlie same as at this time yesterday. Pulse, 106 ; tem- 
perature, 98.5 ; respiration, 18." This showed the condition to be about the same 
as at the same hour tlie day before. Further inquiring developed the fact that 
the President did not sleep quite so well during the night. The slow suppuration 
of the swollen gland caused some restlessness. In the morning he took nourish*^ 
ment satisfactorily, but there was no apparent improvement of the general condi- 
tion since Wednesday. The statement that the swollen gland was not much better 
told a great deal. The fact was that the incision made Wednesday had not proven 
as satisfactory as was hoped, and as indeed at first it seemed likely to. The swell- 
ing had not diminished since the discharge was secured, and tiie discharge was 
very slight indeed. The character of the pus was said to be good. The appre- 
hension felt was not based on new knowledge, but on lack of knowledge as to 
just what was to be the result of the inflammation. Immediately after the morn- 
ing examination had been made the doctors again went into consultation in regard 
to the President's removal. It seems that the idea was seriously broached on 
account of the President's expressed wish for a change of scene and air. Dr. 
Hamilton was one that favored the idea of removal. All agreed that it would be 
best to remove the President as soon as possible, but it was thought best not to 
remove him now, as shown in the following extra bulletin, issued at 9:15 o'clock: 
"The subject of the removal of the President from Washington at the present 
time was earnestly considered by us last night and again tills morning. After 
mature deliberation the conclusion was arrived at by the majority that it would 
not now be prudent, although all agree that it would be very desirable at the ear- 
liest time at which his condition may warrant it. We are, moreover, unanimously 
of the opinion that at no time since the injury has the President exhibited any 
symptoms of malaria." Secretary Kirkwood, Attorney-General MacVeagh and 
Postmaster-GeneralJames met at the White House when the physicians were con- 
ferring about the removal of the President . The others waited for the decision 
to be announced by bulletin. When the Attorney-General went away he was 
asked if he had heard anything to make him feel better or woi-se. He replied that 
he had felt ver}' despondent for a long time, and that he had heard nothing to 
make him feel much better. He was further asked if any new development added 
to his despondency, and i-eplied: "No, nothing in particular, but this continued 
drain must wear him away.'' Postmaster-General James had nothing to say, 
except that there did not seem to be much change one way or the other. 

Dr. Agnew returned to Philadelphia on the 10:30 A. M. train. He has patients 
to keep him busy there, and dees not expect to return before Sunday. Meanwhile 
Dr. Hamilton remains here. Dr. Hamilton felt in no way antagonized by the 
other surgeons because they did not decide to remove the President from the 
White House. Dr. Agnew has long been on record against any attempt to remove 
the President until he should be very much better, and Dr. Bliss has expi-essed 
the same sentiment. Dr. Hamilton's proposition seems to have been made greatly 
in deference to the desire of the President, and was deemed worthy of full con- 
sideration by all. 

The decision was not generally accepted as further evidence of the hopelessness 
of the case, but as evidence that.no unimperative risks were to be run. The slow 
progress of the gland was an evident source of discomfort to the physicians. Dr. 
Bliss stated at 11 A. M. that it would probably be several days before the best 
effects of the incision would be apparent. He said the swelling had not seemed 



123 

to decrease. Other indications seemed not unfavorable. The stomach was retain- 
ing fully as much nourishment as on Wednesday. 

The noon bulletin showed another rise in pulse and temperature. It read as 
follows : Since the issue of this morning's bulletin a rise in the President's tem- 
ature similar to that which occurred yesterday morning, has been observed. His 
pulse is somewliet more frequent. From the incision in Che parotid swelling a 
few drops of pus were discharged this morning; the size of the swelling has not 
diminislied. In otlier respects his condition has not perceptibly changed. Pulse, 
112; temperature, 99.2; respiration, 19." 

There has been very feV callers at the White House during the forenoon. 
There seemed to be a settled feeling that there was no use trying to hasten con- 
clusions. The crisis still continued and it was apparent that the inmates of the 
White House were less encouraged than on Wednesday. Dr. Boynton just before 
noon stated, in reply to a question, that he did not consider the President any 
better yesterday than Wednesday. He was asked whether he thought he had held 
his own. Dr. Boynton replied that he could point to no symptom that showed 
him to be worse, but it seemed :o be the general impression that he was hardly so 
well. He considered the important feature of the case to be his extreme weak- 
ness and the low condition of his blood. He did not think there had been any gain of 
strength since Wednesday. The wound seemed to be doing well enough. The 
parotid swelling had not begun to yield. The President seemed to be receiving 
enough food, and was taking it wiHingly. If the wound should continue to do 
well and the stomach to act, the blood ought to improve by and by. It was only 
a question whether the nourishment would be sufficient to carry him over the 
crisis. If it did he might recuperate ; if not, he would not like to say what might 
come. The noon bulletin was not at all reassuring. The recurrence of the febrile 
rise so early in the day was very unsatisfactory. The physicians still kept cheer- 
ful and insisted that he was not much worse, but the outside public seemed again 
coming to the conclusion that he was worse than he has seemed lately. 

The evening bulletin was awaited with great anxiety by both the inmates of 
the White House outside of the surgeons' room and the public, who seemed more 
interested in the figures than the other contents, in which but little faith is put by 
the m;«jority. It was as fo lows : " There has been little change in the Presi- 
dent's condition since the noon bulletin was issued. The frequency of his pulse 
is now the same as then . His temperature has risen somewhat, but is not so high 
as yesterday evening. There has been a slight dischatge of pus during the day 
from the incision in the parotid swelling, but it is not diminishing in size. No un- 
favorable change has been observed in the condition of the wound. He has taken 
by the mouth a sufficient supply of liquid food. At present his pulse is 112 ; 
temperature, 99.8 ; respiration, 19. 

The anxiety of the situation did not seem to be yet approaching alarm among 
the inmates of the White House. Private Secretary Brown had not been feeling 
so confident, but would not surrender his hope. He still believed that tlie Presi- 
dent was not beyond recovery and that he would yet rally. If no alarm existed 
on Wednesday none ought to have been abroad yesterday, according to Dr. Ham- 
Iton's idea. He stated definitely to one repoiter, in the hearing of others, during 
the afternoon, that he felt '' more encouraged to-day than yesterday," and in an- 
swer to a question as to whether there was any immediate danger, he promptly 
answered in the negative. Dr. Boynton was anxious about what was going to 
come of the gland, but, at the same time, he thought he could see a way to re- 
covery, '' It is sight without explanation," said one who heard this remark. 

" That's so," said the doctor ; " I don't undertake to show why I think the Presi- 
dent may yet recover, but I still have tiie hope that he will." 

Dr. Keyburn, late in the afternoon, said there was no apparent improvement in 
the President during the day, but that he seemed to be holding his own. The 
wound and stomach were now secondary considerations. The amount of nourish- 
ment was taken sufficient to have shown better efl'ectsif the gland was not causing 
so much trouble. One who saw Mrs. Garfield in the afternoon said that she still 
clung to her firm Christian faith that her husband would get well. "We do not 
give him up by any means," said she. She, however, had began to look weary 
with long anxiety, but she could see a chance for better prospects and took it. 

Dr. Susan Edson, than whom no one has been near the President more, 
said that he " remains just about so." She had said for several days that what he 
needed was a change of scene. She did not pretend to say that he was in a con- 



124 

dition to be moved, but that his chances for recoverj' would be much better if he 
could have something to take his mind, even for a moment, from the reality of his 
situation. The decision of the physicians net to remove the President found no 
severe critics, because he was aclinowledged to be too ill at present. Dr. Hamil- 
ton hoped only that possibly some slight change might be made, rather than let 
the President worry because a prisoner between the same four walls. He did not 
insist on removing Ihe patient in his present state, but advocated no further delay 
than absolutely necessary. In this he carried his point without difficulty, for all 
agreed that a change would be highly desirable immediately tlie President could 
bear it. It was suggested that good might be wrought even by so sliglit a change 
as moving his bed into another room, giving him another outlook and a different 
breath of air, but as yet the subject had not been seriously considered. 

The inflamed gland caused a great deal of discussion among outside pliysicians 
yesterday. One prominent surgeon said: "When I first heard of this glandular 
swelling I did not think it would amount to much ; such things are common; but 
when one suppurates it is apt to be accompanied with more or less constitutional 
disturbance. A suppurated gland would make a well man sick, and the eftect of 
such a one on a patient so weak as tlie President cannot but be watched with the 
deepest anxiety." 

The evening bulletin showed a little less than the usual increase of temperature 
over that of noon, and the pulse remained the same. All other conditions remained 
the same. Tine old story was repeated, "just holding liis own," and it was mighty 
poor encouragement to the public. 

A change for better or worse seemed ta be expected during the evening, and 
callers became more plenty. Among those who came merely to pay respects were 
Senator John A. Logan, ex-Senator Chaffee, and ex-Governor Routt, of Colorado. 
These gentlemen saw only the private secretary, and were informed that the Presi- 
dent was no worse, though he did not seem to gain much. This was about all 
that the Cabinet officers learned as well. 

There had been no more quiet day at the White House in the history of the Presi- 
dent's case than yesterday. The greatest regret was that the quiet was not due to 
a feeling of perfect securitj\ There have been days when all seemed to be going 
so well that even correspendents did not try to anticipate the bulletins. Yesterday 
there was a noticeable feeling that the case was at a standstill ; that no amount of 
anxiety could give good assurance that the President was better, and that he was 
not perceptibly worse. Still it could not but be felt that no better and no worse 
meant that each hour gave the President a less firm hold on life. There were no 
facts to warrant such an interpretation, perhaps, but the indications pointed toward 
it. Tlie idea that Dr. Agnew's summons meant merely a conference on the pro- 
posed removal of the President was combatted for a while, but soon became gen- 
erally admitted. Close observance of the physicians and attendants showed that 
the President was not doing as well as it was wished he might. Dr. Bliss talked 
cheerfully, but appeared somewhat nervous — nothing strange, perhaps, in one so 
tired as he had a right to be, but sufficiently marked to excite comment in con- 
nection with the earnest conversation in regard to the gland. His remark was : 
"I do wish that gland was out of the way. Once that is cured and we will have 
plain sailing." Then, too, in explaining about the incision in the face, he described 
how the gland was full of little pockets of pus. Just such pockets Dr. Bliss talked 
about two weeks ago as one of the symptoms of pyaemia. Now he hoped the walls 
of these cells would be broken down by suppuration, that the pus could, after a 
-few days, be thoroughly drained. He admitted that this condition was the result 
of an aftection of the blood, but hoped to see the President rally from these effects 
when the inflammation subsided. This would be, in his opinion, several days. 
Therefore, on the statement of the physician in charge of the case, tliere were 
more days of anxiety ahead. No one who heard Dr. Bliss talk doubted that he 
still expected the President to recover, but he did not seek to disguise the fact that 
the gland was causing serious trouble. In fact, the gland had completely sup- 
planted the stomach in public interest and general dread as well, yesterday. All 
the physicians agreed that the inflammation was now the main thing, and the 
question was, could the President's vitality liold out until the swelling was gone? 
There seemed to be the only hope. 

At 10 P. M. a reporter had a conversation with Dr. Boynton. He was found 
reading the bulletin. " Yes," he remarked, " he takes nourishment enough, but 
it will have no effect as long as the parotid inflammation exists, together with tlie 
trouble that caused it.'' 



125 

" What trouble do you mean ? " 

"Blood poisoning." 

"But can't that be eliminated? " 

"Only by time, and I fear the President can't bear up long enough for it. I 
tell you I feel just about discouraged. I have seen all along favorable conditions 
of the wound, and even of the parotid swelling, that kept me in heart, but there 
has been a change. I can't just tell you how it is apparent, but I very much fear 
that the worst will come to the worst." 

" You anticipate no sudden end ? 

" I do not yet give him up entirely, but my hope is growing>'eaker. I do not 
like to think but that he will yet recover ; at any rate, he is not likely to die imme- 
diately." 

Meanwhile the Cabinet were all at the White House, and some of the ladies 
were with Mrs. Garfield. There was a deep feeling of gloom with them. 
Hope had almost forsaken them when the contents of the evening bulletin were 
learned. In conversation with the doctors they learned that the situation was 
growing more and more grave, and they were given to understand that a change 
must come soon. In fact, one of the members stated afterward, they were told 
that if a change for the better dRl not come within 24 hours the worst might be 
expected. The Cabinet and their ladies all left at 10:30. Before leaving Secre- 
tary Blaine sent the early cablegram to Minister Lowell, the plain facts of which 
were very significant of the general feeling. The Secretary of State had no more 
to say after he left tiie house. Secretary Windom had tears in his eyes as he 
escorted his wife to their carriage. In answer to an inquiry, he replied : " It's 
bad enough, I tell you." Secretary Hunt said : " I don't know any more than you 
do about it." Secretary Kirkwood said : "We think the President will not 
recover." Postmaster-General James, whose hope has been strongest, could not 
speak for emotion. Secretary Lincoln said : "The end looks near." Attorney- 
General MacVeagh said : "It is turning out as I ieared, and it won't be long, I 
fear, now. The only hope lies in the effect of the nourishment in the next few 
hours." 

Thus were the official visitors almost eonvinc^d that the end was near. All 
went hoiiie and to bed, but most of them left messengers at the White House to 
bring news of any change during the night. Drs. Hamilton, Woodward, and 
Barnes went out during the evening and did not come back. After the increased 
anxiety was known they could not be seen for purposes of an interview, as they 
had retired for the night. Drs. Bliss and Reyburn remained with the President. 
Miss Edson sat by the bedside during the early part of the night. Mrs. Gar- 
field was near the President a while during the evening. She was with aim when 
he showed wandering of the mind. She said not a word when she left to go to 
bed. With her wifely instinct she, of course, recognized the gravity of the situa- 
tion, although she knew the physicians did not yet abandon all hope, and she 
certainly did not seem to. She went to bed, as did also her children. Private 
Secretary Brown slept at the White House. Before retiring he made the remark: 
"The President is not dead yet. I look for better news to-morrow." 

During tlie evening the President's pulse rose to 120. At 11:30 P.M. it had 
fallen to 112 again. The swollen gland was covered with poultices all the evening, 
and at the hour just mentioned had not changed in appearance. The President 
continued to wander in his mind until a late hour. He slept some, but awoke 
very frequently. At one time he said, " Wliere is Dr. Bliss ?" On the doctor's 
stepping to his side he said, '^I want Dr. Bliss to put me in my own bed." The 
doctor explained that he was in his own bed and seemed to be very comfortable: 
and with that the President seemed better satisfied. At 11:20 P.M. Dr. Bliss 
said that there was no marked change in the President's condition; that he was 
then asleep; the I'ulse was about 112 and other indications about the same as at 
evening bulletin. 

At midnight the President was asleep. No marked change had occurred thus 
far, but lie seemed a little more quiet. The end was not expected before morning, 
though it was generally conceded not to be far off, unless almost a miracle inter- 
vened. 

At 1 o'clock the White House was quiet as on any night for a week. The doctors 
were lying down. Miss Edson remained beside the President. He had slept 
some but was restless. Mrs. Garfield kept company with Miss Edson for a few 
moments during the last hour, but had gone to her room again. 



126 

There had been no decided change in the President's condition up to 2 o'clock. 
The doctors had not been needed at the bedside but once since midnight and 
then he was apparently not uncomfortable. He continued to be slightly de- 
lirious at times. 

At 3 o'clock the situation had not altered during the last hour. The Presi- 
dent was then resting quietly and the members of the household remained un- 
disturbed. 

4 A. M.— The President's condition remained unchanged. Tlie inmates of 
the Wliite House felt that there may yet be hope. 

At 9 o'clock last night Secretary Blaine sent the following dispatch : 
Lowell, Minister, London : The President has lost ground to-day. Some 
of his symptoms this afternoon and evening are of the gravest character. 
The condition of the swollen gland and of the pulse and temperature suggest 
serious and alarming complications. His mind, at intervals, has been some- 
what beclouded and wandering. His strength fails, but he still swallows liquid 
food of a nourishing character, and apparently digests it. On this one fact 
rests the hope that is still left of a reaction. Blaine, Secretary. 

Last night was a very bad one for the President and a sad one for the other 
inmates of the White House. It could hardly have been sadder if the word 
had come. Everybody was downcast. The physicians had no words of en- 
couragement for anxious inquirers. During the earlier part of the night a 
change in the condition of the swollen gland became apparent. It was dis- 
covered that instead of one accumulation of pus, matter was collected in at 
least a half dozen cells. There was evidence, also, that the accumulation of 
matter in cells was going downward. Great fears were entertained, however, 
that it would also ascend and reach the brain, as it was found that the swollen 
gland was what is known as a burrowing abscess. Such an abscess is a pretty 
sure sign that there is blood poisoning and of a rather virulent form. The 
President slept very poorly. He was suffering from mental aberration a great 
deal of the time ; was restless and impatient. 

Later in the night the burrowing abscess broke inside, and pus was dis- 
charged through the mouth. All efforts to control the abscess seemed to avail 
nothing. The break inside was admitted to be a most dangerous sign. One 
of the physicians said before it occurred that if such a contingency should 
arise lie did not think the President could survive. There is no need of con- 
cealing the fact that the dreaded culmination of the assassin's deed may be 
looked for at almost any liour. Again last night the President became anxious 
and worried on the subject of being removed. Mrs. Edson was with him. 
The President said : " Where is Bliss '?■" " In the next room," was the reply. 
After an impatient movement the President said : " Go and tell him to come 
here. Tell him I want to be removed to my own bed. Tell him I want to be 
removed and put in my own bed. I won't stay here any longer."' After con- 
siderable trouble Mrs. Edson quieted him, and he went "to sleep for a few min- 
utes. 

This morning the President was resting somewhat easier— a result of the 
bursting of the gland and the relief consequent upon a discharge of pus from 
the burroAving abscess. His mind was cleaver tliis morning. Last night he 
was frequently out of his head and knew nothing that was going on around 
him, and recognized no one. Early this morning there was an anxious crowd 
in front of the White House. The waiters for bulletins were on hand at the 
house in much larger numbers than usual. There was a rush for the bulletins 
when they were distributed, and a scampering away after they had been cap- 
tured by "eager hands. The following was the oflicial bulletin : 

Executive Mansion, August 26. 8:30 A. M.— The President slept most of 
the night, awakening at intervals of half an hour to an hour. On first awaken- 
ing there was, as there has been for several nights past, some mental confn- 
sion, which disappeared when he was fully roused, and occasionally he mut- 
tered in his sleep. These symptoms have abated this morning as on previous 
days. At present liis temperature is slightly above the normal, and his pulse 
a little more frequent than yesterday morning. Pulse, 108; temperature, 99.1; 
respiration, 17.— 1). W. ]>liss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Kobert Keyburn, 
Prank IL Hamilton. 



127 

The best that can be said about the President this morning is that he is not 
in a dying condition. He is weaker than he was yesterday, and all the symp- 
toms are for the worse rather tlian the better. He was weaker yesterday than 
the day before, and is weaker to-day than he was yesterday. In other words, 
the wasting process is going on and has not been cliecked. The liquid food 
which he still takes by the mouth does not seem to assimilate and build up 
the system as it should by enriching the blood. Such recuperative action 
is necessary, as stated yesterday, for an improvement of any endur.^ble charac- 
ter. There now seems to be no doubt whatever but that blood poisoniug has 
a firm hold on the President, and it is very doubtful if it can be thrown off or 
checked, in view of the weakened condition of the patient and the impover- 
ished state of the blood. Everything about the White House to-day was 
gloomy. While hope was not abandoned, it was apparent to the most casual 
eye that fears of the worst were planted in every breast. It was reported that 
another pus cell in the gland had been cut open after the morning examination, 
but inquiry among the doctors elicited only a denial of it. 

The pus from the inward break in the gland is being discharged from the ear 
instead of through the mouth. It was at first thought, as stated above, that 
the discharge was from the mouth, but it lias been discovered that the matter 
from the mouth was mucous pus, and that the discharge from the abscess is 
through the ear. It will be remembered that when Dr. Hamilton cut the 
gland the other day. he did it in order to give an outlet for the accumulated 
matter, fearing that it might seek an outlet itself, and possibly go through the 
ear. The swelling of the gland has not gone down perceptibly. 

But little information was obtained direct from the physicians concerning 
the condition of the President this morning prior to the issuance of the morn- 
ing bulletin. The absence of all reference in the bulletin to the general con- 
dition of the President and to the parotid swelling was at once noted and com- 
mented upon by those waiting for it. Attorney-General MacVeagh pronounces 
the situation extremely critical, and when asked this morning how long he 
thought this suspense would continue, replied: "God only knows." Postmas- 
ter-General -James and Secretary Hunt telegraphed to Thurlow Weed that " a 
gleam of hope at 10 A. M. comes from the surgeons. His symptoms are no 
worse and improvement not impossible." Dr. Bliss came out of the surgeons' 
room about 9:30 this morning and telephoned to his wife that the President 
was a little better than last night. In rely to interrogations, he said that the 
President's pulse this morning was less frequent, and that the parotid swelling 
had broken into the right ear, and was discharging through that orifice. The 
patient's mind was clear, and he conversed rationally with the surgeons about 
the condition of the inflamed gland. He partook of food, which seemed to be 
grateful to him, and his general condition appeared to be a little improved. 
The doctor expressed'himself as hopeful that the swollen gland would be re- 
lieved by the discharge through the ear, and that he would pull through the 
day without much change. 

10:40 A. M.— Secretary Kirkwood came out of the Cabinet-room a few mo- 
ments since, and in reply to questions asked by a reporter of the Associated 
Press gave the following statement of the President's case as he understood it 
this morning: "I have never thought," he said, "until last night that the Pres- 
ident would die; but the information which we received from the surgeons late 
in the evening was of such a character as to leave very little room for hope. 
The danger which then seemed most imminent was tlie danger of the absorp- 
tion of unhealthy pus from the swollen parotid gland. The mental disturbance 
and the increased pulse seemed to indicate that this process of absorption had 
already begun, and that it was poisoning tlie blood, and thus acting upon the 
brain and heart." Taking up a small egg-shaped piece of sponge which lay on 
the reporter's table, the Secretary continued: "As I understand the case from 
what the surgeons have told me, the President's right parotid gland is, in some 
respects, like this sponge; everj'^where through it there are little cells or pock- 
ets, in each of which there is an accumulation of pus. The incision which 
was made day before yesterday pierced one of these pockets, and released the 
pus which that particular one contained, but it did not drain the others; and, 
in fact, the others could not be effectually drained at this stage of the suppura- 
tion by a single incision made anywhere. The fear last night was that the pus 
retained in these small cavities would become unhealthy, and as I before said, 



128 

result in acute blood poisoning. Dr. Bliss told us, however, last night, just 
before we went home, tliat he had not given up the hope of a favorable change 
during the night, and the surgeons think this morning that there has been such 
a slight change for the better as Dr. Bliss hoped for. The breaking of the sup- 
purating gland into the cavity of the ear will, it is thought, afford more relief 
than could be given in any other way. and it is, therefore, regarded as a favor- 
able symptom. The discharge through that channel seems to be free, the pus 
is thus far of a healthy character, and the patient's mind this morning is clearer 
than last night, showing that there has been no blood poisoning of consequence 
from the gland as yet. Taking everything into consideration, I think there is 
reason this morning for a little more hope." 

"The greater the discharge from the gland the better it will be," is what comes 
from the physicians. The discharge from the ear induced by the inward Durst- 
ing of a cell in the swollen gland, continues. There has also been and still is 
a discharge from the incision made by Dr. Hamilton the other day. Towards 
noon the appearance of things at the White House was much brighter, and the 
gloom of the morning was partially lifted. The reports from the sick room 
gave the glad news that the President was resting a great deal easier, and that 
he was much relieved. Upon these reports was founded the more cheerful 
spirit that pervaded the house. It is not so much any one symptom or mere 
development that causes anxiety now, as the complication of the many differ- 
ent ones which seem to follow each other in an endless procession. 

Dr. Hamilton says that the President is better, and that he still has hope for 
the patient. 

In times of deep public anxiety, whatever there is of superstition among the 
people comes to the surface. The announcement that the President demanded 
to be taken to his old home at Mentor w^as regarded by the superstitious as a 
very bad sign, for there is a vague notion among them that such wishes always 
precede death. After the President w-as shot, the Washington Evening Star re- 
published an extract from the horoscope of General Garfield, as published in 
March, 1881, by "Ruthiel." At that time the prediction as to the mode of 
death seemed to have no application to the President's w^ound, but since the 
danger has been removed to the face it will be read again with interest, and 
may, perhaps, strengthen the superstitious in their belief in signs in the sky. 
The astrologer said : 

"This being a nocturnal birth, and the moon being on the cusp of the ninth 
house, she was the hyleg, or giver of life. Her position could scarcely have 
been more unfavorable. She was very near the most evil of the unfixed stars. 
Caput Algol, at her full, and nearly in parallel to Mars. These things threaten 
injuries to the face and eyes and a painful death." 

The gathering at the White House for the noon bulletin w^as unusually large. 
The talking in the private secretary's room w^ent on in undertones. The crowd 
got impatient, as the bulletin was delayed for some minutes. As usual there 
were those on hand to say that the delay was the sign of a bad bulletin. This 
impression was strengthened by the recollection that usually it is know^n be- 
forehand the general character of the medical announcement, and that to-day 
there was not the slightest thing known about it before its promulgation. 
There was a rapid break for down stairs with the bulletins as they were dis- 
tributed. Sergeant Dinsmore has to stand at the stairs and check the stam- 
pede of the bulletin holders, to prevent too much noise being made in the hurry 
to get out of the house with the bulletins. The bulletin bearers are becoming 
a nuisance. The building was as depressing as had been anticipated. The 
pulse had gone up ten beats since this morning, the temperature had gone up 
nearly a tenth, and there was no improvement in the respiration. The bulletin 
was as follows: 

At the morning dressing of the President it was observed that pus from the 
parotid swelling had found its way spontaneously into his right external audi- 
tory meatus, through which it was discharging. Some pus was also discharging 
through the incision made into the swelling. His wound looks as well as it has 
done for some time past. His pulse and temperature are at present higher than 
at the corresponding hour for some days. He continues to take by the mouth 
the liquid food prescribed. ]S'everthel('SS, we regard his condition as critical. 
Pulse, US; temperature, 100; respiration, IS.— D. AV. Bliss, J. J. Woodward, 
J. K. Barnes, Kobert lleyburn, Prank II. Hamilton. 



129 

The above bulletin had the effect of spreading discouragement everywhere, 
even at the White House. It was the first really bad bulletin that the doctors 
have issued. It shoAved that the doctors themselves weie beginning to weaken 
in confidence. It being the first bulletin that carried with it alarm on its face, 
the depression was more widespread than if there had been similar bulletins 
previously. The words ''nevertheless we regard his condition as critical," 
looked ominous. This afternoon hope is still feebly entertained. It looks as 
if the President cannot recover and that his death is only a question of time. 
The doctors do not give any tangible hope, but they do not, by any means, say 
that they give the patient up. Tlie fever during the day came on early and has 
continued. Compared with yesterday's noon bulletin there was to-day six 
more beats to the pulse, the temperature was eight-tenths higher and respira- 
tion less by one. It looks bad this afternoon. The same difficulty is experi- 
enced in keeping up the patient's strength. He does not gain iu that direction 
in the least. 

The following was sent this afternoon: 

Lowell, Minister, London: At this hour (Half -past one) the patient's pulse 
and temperature are higher. Pulse, 118 ; temperature, 100. During several 
hours last night his pulse was 120. In the early morning it fell to 108. It is 
hoped that the parotid swelling has found a slight release by a discharge of pus 
through the right ear. He continues to swallow liquid food in adequate sup- 
ply. He exhibits a tendency to continuous sleep or drowsiness. His physi- 
cians pronounce his condition to be critical. Blaine, Secretary, 

This dispatch stating that the pulse last night went up to 120, and that "the 
President has a tendency to continuous sleeping, was the first information as to 
these conditions that had been made public. The sleepiness is a sign of blood 
poisoning well advanced. 

The President's condition at 3 P. M. was more alarming than it has ever 
been. There is no longer hope of his reco^ ery. The end is approaching with 
steady stride. Since the issuance of the noon bulletin his pulse has at one time 
run to 138, with a corresponding increase in temperature. 

There has been administered to him since the afternoon examination a quan- 
tity of stimulants. He has been given brandy, milk and raw eggs. His pulse 
went down under their effect, but there has been no general improvement. The 
indications are that by to-morrow he will be in a comatose condition. 

August 27. — Last nighc was a gloomy one. During the early part of the night 
some faint rays of hope came from the sick room, but as the morning hours 
approached the light shed by them was extinguished by the inforaiatiou that the 
President was worse. Tlie members of the Cabinet remained at the house most 
of the night, and expressed tlie deepest anxiety and fear. Mrs. Garfleld slept 
some during the night, but did not retire. She has been told that the worst is pos- 
sibly near. As she has done during the whole illness of the President she bears 
up well. There is nothing new given out as to the wound and the glandular swell- 
ing. The trouble seems to be the failure of the nourishment administered to build 
up the patient any. The exhaustion continues and is not checked. When, this 
morning, the pulse began to fluctuate so that it could not be counted, it was evi- 
dent that the end was near. There seems to be absolutely no hope of a rally. 

Dr. Bliss this morning before the bulletin was issued, told Mr. Brown that there 
was no encouragement. The other physicians say tlie same thing. The Presi- 
dent's case is now regarded as hopeless by every one, including even the physi- 
cians. He is sinking perceptibly. The bad change occurred this morning about 
4 o'clock. Until that time the little hope that had found its way into the breasts 
of the p.-ople at the White House was held there. But the change was so great as 
to be entirely unmistakable. The President may live for 24 hours. It is a bare 
"may live," however. Dr. Bliss said in ansvver to an inquiry tliat he would not 
predict that tlie President would live 24 hours. Two of the doctors, who knew 
nothing of the change early this morning, were greatly surprised at the very bad 
news which greeted them when they came to be present at the morning exami- 
nation. The bulletin was very depressing. It was bad all around, except in the 
fact that the nourishment was retained. The pulse was fluctuating still when the 
examination was made, and the figure 120, at which it is placed in the bulletin, is 
only approximate. The following is the bulletin : 

August 27, 8:30 A. M.— The President slept from half an hour to an hour or 
more at a time tiiroughout the night. He continues to retain the liquid food ad 



130 

ministered by the mouth, and the stimulating enemata; nevertheless, his pulse has 
been more frequent since midnight, and he is evidently feebler this morning than 
yesterday. Pulse, 120 ; temperature, 98.4 ; respiration, 22. — D. W. Bliss, J. K. 
Barnes, J. J. Woodward, Robert Reyburn, Frank II. Hamilton. 

The failure of the pulse and temperature to rise and fall together is now one of 
the very worst signs of the case. The pulse going one way and the temperature 
another is usually a sign of approaching dissolution. Their see-sawing causes the 
gravest apprehensions. 

Last night Dr. Reyburn, recognizing the great danger, told Mrs. Garfield that 
it would be better that all the children should sleep in the house. For this reason 
Miss MoUie, who has been passing the nights at Colonel Rockwell's, came from 
there and passed tlie night at the Executive M msion. There was not much sleep- 
ing at the White House except by the President, and that sleep was of a character 
to give unrest to others. 

AH the Cabinet officers called early this morning, having been informed of the 
bad condition of the President. Postmaster-General James, Secretary Kirkwood 
and Secretary Windom left together about 9 o'clock. Not one of them felt the 
least encouragement. 

" What do you think of it?" asked a reporter of the Postmaster-General. 

''I cannot think," was the reply. 

"Is it not about as bad as it could be? " 

" It is very bad ; but while there is life there is hope." 

Executive Mansion, 6:30 P. M. — The President's condition has not changed 
materially since the last bulletin was issued. He continues to take by the mouth 
the liquid food prescribed, and occasionallj'^ asks for it. Since yesterday afternoon, 
commencing at 11:30 o'clock, the enemata have again been given at regular inter- 
vals a? a means of administering stimulants as well as nutrition. They are 
retained without trouble. At present his pulse is 116 ; temperature, 99.9 ; respi- 
ration, 18. — Signed by the five surgeons. 

Secretary Blaine sent the following dispatch at 10 o'clock last night to Minister 
•Lowell: " While the President has made no gain to-day, his loss of ground has been 
less, in the judgment of his phj'sicians, than was feared last night. In this aspect 
there is a slight feeling of encouragement, or at least a ray of hope. The adverse 
symptoms are stiil manifest, and the one favorable indication of swallowing and 
digesting liquid food continues. Two or three times during the day he has asked 
for nourishment. He has spoken intelligently and voluntarily, and throughout 
the day his mind has been less affected than yesterday. The expected relief to 
the parotid swelling from the discharge through the ear has not been realized. 
The situation is one of great gravity and danger." 

August 27. — At 7 o'clock this morning the first intelligence of the condition of 
the President was received from the physicians' room. This information, though 
meager, was discouraging. It was substantially to the effect that the President's 
condition was a little less encouraging than at a late hour last night ; that his 
pulse had not yet been taken, but that it was noticeably less firm. Tiiis feeble 
rise of pulse was not noticed until Dr. Bliss went to his bedside about 6 o'clock 
this morning. He then observed tliat although thefrequencj'^ of the pulse had not 
materially changed its character was weaker and more unsteady. He did not in- 
terpret this as certain evidence of the nearness of the end, but a circumstance 
calculated to narrow still more the President's chances of recovery. A painful 
period of suspense intervened between the receipt of tliis information and the 
appearance of the morning bulletin, and the latter was w^aited for with an ominous 
foreboding that it would confirm the worst fears. The bulletin when it made its 
appearance with the positive statement that the President had grown feebler 
since yesterdaj% and noting a marked increase in pulse and respiration, extin- 
guished the last ray of hope held by the general public, and cast a deeper gloom 
over those near and dear to the President. The physicians do not say, however, 
that hope is dead. 
Secretary Blaine sent the following telegram to Minister Lowell this morning : 

Executive Mansion, Jl/z^tj^s^ 27.— Lowell, Minister, London: — The President 
had a bad night, and his symptoms at tiiis hour — 9 o'clock — are of the most alarm- 
ing character.- ' Blaine, Secretary. 

This morning the President's pulse ran up to 148. At another time last night 
it was 130. Towards noon everything was very quiet about the house. Frequent 



131 

messengers to the drag store were dispatched durhig the morning. The reports 
from the sick room continue to bring the same words, " no change." 

12.30 P. M. — Tliere has been no improvement in the President's condition since 
the last bulletin was issued. He continues to retain the liquid food administered 
by the mouth as well as the enemata. At the morning dressing the parotid swell- 
ing appeared about the same as yesterday. No material change was observed in 
the wound. Since morning the temperature has risen about a degree, and the 
pulse has flactated somewhat. At present his pulse is 120; temperature, 99.6; 
respiration, 22.— Frank H. Hamilton, J. K. Barnes, D. W. Bliss, Kobert Rej'burn. 
Gen. Mason, who is a cousin of Mrs. Garfield, had an audience with Mrs. Garfield 
between half-past one and two o'clock. She had not abandoned hope and still 
dinged to the belief that the favorable turn in the President's condition will yet 
appear. 

2. P. M.— Lowell, Minister, London:— There has been no change for the better 
in the President's condition since morning. His fever has risen and his pulse at 
this hour (2 P. M.) is 120. His physicians do not regard the case as hopeless, but 
very dangerous and critical Blaine, Secretary. 

Surely no such load was ever taken away from any nation as that which has 
been lifted from the hearts of the American people within the last forty-eight 
hours, by the great change for the better in the condition of the President. It is 
true, the gallant patient is still far from well ; he is yet in very great danger, in- 
deed ; but the improvement has been so marked and the prospect is now so en- 
couraging that sorrowful countenances and despairing hearts have everywhere 
given way to cheerful faces and bright hopes. 

The more confident view of the case taken at the present time seems to be • 
fairly justified by the official bulletins, and it may also be said to be fully shared 
by the attending physicians. That the grounds upon which it is based may 
continue to exist and grow broader and firmer every hour is the prayer of the 
whole civilized world. 

The improvement in the President's condition so suddenly and happily be- 
gun Saturday afternoon, has been maintained without interruption. Hope 
has grown with each hour, and now almost amounts to the happy assurance 
that unless some xmtoward and unexpected complication appears, the Presi- 
dent will live. 

Last night was passed almost comfortably by the President. He was rest- 
ful. There was none of the coughing that had disturbed him the night before. 
The gland continued to behave excellently, and did not cause irritation. The 
bowels acted better than they have for many days. This morning all was 
bright and comparatively cheerful at the White House. The news from the 
sick room was better even than the encouraging reports of last evening. 

The members of the Cabinet came early and went away cheerful. Secretary 
Lincoln said that after his conversation with the surgeons he was very hope- 
ful: "The President has certainly passed the corner. There maybe other 
corners, but I do not think there are. Danger is still present, but I do not 
think that it will augment, but decrease and gradually draw off."' 

At the morning dressing the wound was found to be in good condition and 
looked well. The gland was getting along and showed no signs of rebellion. 
The gland is suppurating freely and the pus is of a very good character. Dr. 
Bliss said as he came from the sick room after the dressing, "Everything is 
lovely. The President is getting along splendidly. The gland suppurates very 
satisfactorily."' In answer to a gentleman who asked him what kind of a dis- 
patch he should send to Xew York, Dr. Bliss said: " You can predict that the 
President i- going to live." 

Dr. Hamilton is reported as having used these words last night before he 
left for New York: "I will stake my professional reputation on it that the 
President is going to recover." Dr. Hamilton left at about 10 o'clock. Dr. 
Agnew remains. The bulletin this morning was as acceptable as those of 
yesterday. It was as follows: 

8:30 A.M.— The President's symptoms this morning are as favorable as 
yesterday at the same hour. He slept, awakening at intervals, the greater 
part of the night. At these intervals he took and retained the liq-iid nourish- 
ment administered. His mind continues perfectly clear. Pulse, 100; temper- 
ature, 98.5; respiration, 17.— [Signed by the attending physicians.] 



132 

During the intervals of wakefulness tlie President's mind was perfectly clear. 
Once about 2 A. M. , when awake and while taking nourishment, he remarked to 
Dr Boynton— evidently referring to his several relapses—' • I wonder how many 
more stations I will have to stop at." Dr. Boynton says the President looks 
better and feels better this morning. The doctor's hope is strengthened this 
morning owing to the fact that the President has held his own through an- 
other day and night. He will feel contented and satisfied with the continu- 
ance of this stationary period for a few days; after that he hopes the work of 
repair and recuperation will commence. 

11 A. M.— The surgeons report that the condition of the President is quite 
as favorable as at the morning examination. ' 

The President's lungs have been examined several times. These examina- 
tions have been very close and thorough. There was another examination to- 
day It was found that the lungs were all right and that they have not been 
in the least affected, as was erroneously reported. They are not inflamed, nor 
is there any indication of a pulmonary abscess having been formed. 

There was a rumor afloat this morning that an examination had been made 
of the President's lungs, and that unmistakable evidence in the shape of pus 
accumulations had been discovered of the secondary or pya^mic stage of blood- 
poisoning. In reply to questions asked by a reporter of the Associated Press 
at noon, Dr. Eeyburn said: " Since the President's condition became so low we 
have examined his lungs carefully every day and have always found them 
healthy. The report that pus cavities have formed there is entirely without 

foundation." .,, . ^ ^, -u- 4. -a 

Dr Boynton, upon being questioned with regard to the same subject, said : 
"I made an examination of the President's lungs myself last night and found 
them all right. There are no new complications whatever m the President's 
case, and no unfavorable features, which are not already known. He contin- 
ues to do well. " , _ _ -..,,■,, -, 4.- 

At the morning dressing of the President's wounds there had been a plenti- 
ful discharge of pus during the night from the three openings in the parotid 
gland Another yellow spot was discovered on the side of the face this morn- 
ing, but when pricked permitted a free discharge of pus from another pus- 
pocket. The wound in his body was found to be doing well. It still continues 
to discharge freely. The character of the pus discharged has not changed ma- 
terially since yesterday, but is thicker and healthier in character than what 
flowed from the wound a few days since. While dressing and cleaning the 
wound this morning the cleansing catheter entered to a depth of fully twelve 

Another slight opening was made in the swelling of the President's face. 
Dr. Bliss used the lancet and did the cutting. He made quite a deep incision, 
just below the point of prominency in the cheek-bone. A discharge of about 
a teaspoonf ul of pus followed. Tliis makes the fourth point from which there 
is a discharge of matter— one through the ear and the others from openings 
made by the lancet. The President's beard, on the right side, has been cut off, 
so that now there is but little of it left. The handling of the gland made the 
removal of a part of the beard necessary. 

12:30 P. M.— At the morning dressing of tho President an additional point of 
Euppuration was recognized in his swollen face, which being Incised gave exit to 
some healthy looking pus. The other openings on the exterior of the swelling 
are likewise discharging, but though less tense the tumefaction has not vet mate- 
rially diminished ii. size. Nothing now has been observed in tlie condition of the 
wound. Tiie usual daily rise of temperature lias not yet occnritd. and the general 
condition has not materially changed since morning. Pulse, lOG; temperature, 
pulse, 104; respiration, 18. He slept well during the night, awakening only at 
98.6; respiration, 18.— [Signed by the attending surgeons.] 

Last Friday there was a little conversation between Mrs. Gailleld andr ne or two 
of the physicians, who told her that there seemed to be no el:a:;ce for t!ie Presi- 
dent's recovery. Mrs. Garfield replied that the President was not going ro die and 
she did not want lo hear any one say that lie was. She requested that they would 
never tell her that there would be death until the President had ceased to live. 
Mrs. Garfield held that the President would tell her if he felt that he was going 
to die. 

The following was sent this afternoon: 



133 

s 

LowELTv, Minister, London:- The President had a good night and is having a 
good day. At this liour (2 P.M.) his pulse is 103; showing a decrease from the 
forenoon. For many days past the pulse has shown a decided increase by this 
time in the afternoon. His respiration is normal. All other symptoms are reported 
by his surgeons to be favorable. Elaine, Secretary. 

3 P. M. — The afternoon wore on at the White House comfortably for the Presi- 
dent. He is passing a better day than yesterday. All of his symptoms are favor- 
able and in general appearance good, with pulse from 100 to 104. 

Secretary Blaine sent the following telegram to Minister Lowell last night: 
"The condition of the President at 10 o'clock continues as favorable as could be 
expected. Within the past thirty hours his improvement has given great encour- 
agement to the attending surgeons. He swallows an adequate supply of liquid 
food. The parotid swelling discharges freely and gives promise of marked im- 
provement. His mind is perfectly clear. He has perhaps a little more fever than 
was anticipated, and his respiration is somewhat above normal. The general feel- 
ing is one of hopefulness. Two or three days more of improvement will be needed 
to insure confidence." i 

The Saturday evening bulletin said the President's symptoms show slight ame- 
lioration this afternoon. His pulse is somewhat less frequent and his temperature 
lower by the mouth and the enemata continue to be retained. Pulse, 114; tem- 
perature, 98.9; respiration, 22. 

This was supplemented by encouraging words from the physicians. 

At 10 o'clock Saturday iiight Secretary Blaine sent the following to Minister 
Lowell, at London : 

LowEiiL, Minister^ London :— There is a somewhat more hopeful^feeling to-night 
in regard to the President. The regular evening bulletin was more favorable and 
the good indications have continued. His pulse is lower, being now 111 and of 
better quality. His mind is entirely clear. He has shown positive appetite, 
asking for milk toast, a small quantity of which he was permitted to eat. This is 
the first time for many days that he has swallowed anything but liquid food. A 
slight increase in his respiration is the only adverse symptom reported at this hour 
— half -past ten. 

The continued improvement yesterday brought forth expressions of the 
strongest hope from the physicians. Dr. Bliss and others stated that they believed 
the crisis had passed, and that the President would recover. 

"The amelioration of the President's symptons, announced in last evening's 
bulletin, continued during the night, and since midnight some further improve- 
ment has been olsserved, the pulse progressivtly diminishing in frequency. The 
stomach has continued to retain the liquid nourishment administered, and last 
evening he asked for and ate a small quantity of milk toast. Stimulating and 
nutrient enemata continue to be retained. There has been no mental disturbance 
during the night or this morning. At present his pulse is 100 ; temperature, 98.4; 
respiration, 17." 

During yesterday morning another incision was made in the swollen gland. 
All the conditions were reported as favorable. The Sunday noon bulletin which 
described the operation was as follows : 

" At the morning dressing of the President several yellowish points were ob- 
served j ust below the ear over the swollen parotid, and an incision being made about 
a teaspoonf ul of healthy-looking pus escaped. There was also some discharge of 
pus through the two openings (into the ear and the incision,) mentioned in pre- 
vious bulletins. The wound looks rather less indolent than it has been doing for 
several days past. Since the morning bulletin there has been some rise of tem- 
perature, but' little increase in the frequency of pulse, and in other respects no 
material change has occurred. Pulse, 104 ; temperature, 99.5 ; respiration, 18," 

At 2 o'clock Secretary B'aine sent the following to Minister Lowell :—" The 
favorable indications in the President's case have continued since the dispatch 
of last night. The respiration has g"Own better, and at this hour— 2 P. M.— 
is nearly normal. The condition of the swollen parotid has visibly improved. 
A slight increase of fever is observable, but was not unexpected. His mind con- 
tinues clear. The possibility of recovery, in the judgment of his surgeons, Jiave 
increased and are mcreasing." 

The evening bulletin was as encouraging as the three which preceded it. It 
s&id * 

The improvement in the President's condition, declared yesterday afternoon, is 



134 

still maintained. He continues to take willingly the liqui-J food given by the 
mouth, and is apparently digesting it. The stimulants and nutrients given by 
eneraata are also retained. At the evening dressing an increased quantity of 
healthy-looking pus was discharged from the suppurating parotid. The appear- 
ance of the wound has not perceptibly changed since the morning dressing. But 
little rise in temperature or pulse has taken place since noon, and the pulse is per- 
ceptibly stronger than this time yesterday. Pulse, 110; temperature, 99.7; respi- 
ration, 20. 

On Saturday Secretary Blaine received, through Minister Lowell, a message 
from Queen Victoria saying: "I am most deeply grieved at the sad news of the 
last few days, and would wish my deep sympathy to be conveyed to Mrs. Garfield." 
Secretary Blaine, in reply, telegraphed to Mr. Lowell saying that Mrs. Garfield's 
request was "that you will return to the Queen her most sincere thanks, and ex 
press her heartfelt appreciation of the constant interest and tender sympathy 
shown by Her Majesty toward the President and his family in their deep grief and 
most painful suspense." 

The sultry weather of yesterday morning was thought to bean inauspicious 
augury for the President. It was soon leariaed, however, that he had slept toler- 
ably well, and while there was no positive accession of strength, no ground had 
been lost and perhaps a little gained. It was semi-ofticially announced before the 
bulletin was issued that the President had had another good night and had started 
on what bid fair to be another good day. The gain was as yet perceptible only in 
the general appearance of the patient and the favorable progress of the symptoms. 
It would doubtless be several days before there is any noticeable gain in strength, 
it was said. Tlie patient slept "remarkably well during the night, causing his 
attendants very little trouble. Early in the morning he was a trifle more restless 
on account of the "gathering" of the pus at another point in the gland. The 
eaily examination proved very satisfactory, as shown in the following bulletin : 

August 28, 8:30 A, M.— The President slept the greater part of the night, awak- 
ening at intervals and retaining the liquid nourishment administered. His general 
condition this morning is about the same as at the same hour yesterday. Pulse, 
102; temperature, 98.5; respiration, 18. 

The pulse and temperature were, perhaps, a littlt higher than they would have 
been if the accumulated pus could have been removed before the indications were 
recorded. After the issuance of the bulletin, in fulfillment of Dr. Bliss's predic- 
tions of Monday night, another incision was made in the gland, at a point where 
an accumulation of pus was most evident. The result was a liberal discharge of 
healthy pus, and, of course, further relief to tiae gland. The size of the swelling 
has materially diminished now and, from present indications, a i^w more days of 
favorable progress in other respects, it is thought, will materially alleviate the 
drain on the system from this source. The wound was reported to be doing well 
and no new unfavorable symptoms had been discovered. In fact the case appears 
to stand about where it did Monday morning. If there had been any gain it 
seemed to be in the fact that another night had passed without the rise of any 
new complications, and it vvas generally admitted that every hour passed under 
present conditions was favorable. 

The noon examination resulted in the following bulletin : 

12 30:P. M. — At the morning dressing another small incision was made in the 
lower part of the swelling on the right side of the President's face, which was fol- 
lowed by a free discharge of healthy-looking pus. A similar discharge took place 
through the other openings. The swelling is preceptibly smaller and looks better. 
The wound remains in an unchanged condition. There has been little rise of 
temperature fcince morning, but the pulse is more frequent. In other respects the 
condition is about the same. Pulse, IIG ; temperature, 98,9 ; respiration, 18. 

The incision make by Dr. Bliss to further relieve the gland caused quite a decided 
fluctuation in the President's pulse. It ranged from 104 to 118, and when the noon 
bulletin was taken it was 116, The temperature was slightly increased, perhaps 
from the same cause, the respiration remaining normal. The midday bulletin was, 
therefore, not satisfactory to the public. The physicians, however, said that the 
whole trouble was with the gland, and that the high pulse was an accompaniment 
of its progress. Each incision, when made, though aflbrding relief to the gland, 
caused much irritation to the patient and consequent fluctatious. The wound 
seemed to be doing no harm, and the physicians insisted that no other unfavorable 



135 

symptoms had been developed.- In the present state of public feeling such a high 
pulse had a tendency to cause considerable anxiety on the streets. At the White 
House, however, all seemed to think the case was proceediuo: satisfactorily. After 
the noon bulletin vpas issued Dr. Agnew remarked : "The President continues to 
do well." Dr. Bliss said th« high pulse caused no alarm as long as all the other 
indications were favorable. Dr. Reyburn said the gland would not be past a 
troublesome point for several days yet, and until it was such fluctuations must be 
expected and need cause no alarm. The day being so hot, the cooling apparatus 
was set to work again, During the morning Drs. Agnew and Barnes paid a visit 
to the Washington Asylum for the Insane. The President had chicken broth and 
other nourishnieiit, a? usual. 

At 1:30 P. M. Colonel Rockwell stated that the President was doing very 
well. The high pulse at noon caused no anxiety, particularly since it fell six 
beats within half an hour after the bulletin had been issued. The Colonel said 
the phj^sicians had told them that as long as the gland remained troublesome 
as now they must expect fluctuations of pulse without thinking them danger- 
ous. Dr. Woodward stated at 2 P. M. that the pulse was causing no anxiety; 
that it was due entirely to the gland; that the gland was progressing satisfac- 
torily, and that, on the whole, the case was proceeding favorably. 

The evening Ijulletin restored the somewhat shaken confidence of the public. 
It was issued rather late and was therefore all the more eagerly watched 
for. The following is the text of the bulletin, which was signed, as were the 
other two, by all the sm'geons but Dr. Hamilton: 

6:30 P. M. — The President has passed comfortably through the day. He has 
taken the usual amount of nourishment by the mouth, with stimulating ene- 
mata at stated periods. His rise of temperature this afternoon is a degree less 
than yesterday at the same time and his pulse is less frequent than at noon to- 
day. The parotid swelling has been discharging more freely and is continuing 
to diminish in size. Pulse, 109; temperature, 99.5; respiration, 18. 

The following is Secretary Blaine's afternoon dispatch: 

Lowell, Minister, London: The President's condition has not materially 
changed since my last dispatch. Another incision was made this morning in 
tlie parotid gland with very satisfactory results. Pus flows freely and the 
swelling grows less. The pulse at this hour (2 P. M.) is lower than during the 
forenoon, as yesterday. But on both days it is higher than liis other good 
symptoms would seem to warrant. It is now 110; at noon it was 116. 

Blaine, Secretary. 

Yesterday was a day devoid of incidents round about the White House, and 
the record of the sick room was equally monotonous. Not monotonous, per- 
haps, to him who, in the morning, suffered another incision of the gland and 
a consequent accelerated pulse, but monotonous to the other anxious ones who 
were longing for a decided change for the better. The patient had been better 
only in the sense of the general improvement that would naturally come with 
twenty-four hours' continuation of favorable conditions. That is to say, the 
much-needed marked improvement was not yet apparent. Even the most san- 
guine fail to recognize conclusive evidence of sure progress, but those even 
who are only hopeful are abundantly satisfied as long as no new unfavorable 
symptoms appear. The morning bulletin indicated the presence of a consid- 
erable accumulation of pus somewhere. The decline of these indications after 
another incision was made in the gland proved conclusively that the extra ac- 
cumulation was there. About two tablespoonf uls of healthy pus were removed 
from the gland during the day. This, of course, materially relieves the ten- 
sion on the swollen part, and gives more satisfaction, too, since the swell- 
ing has now begun to decrease. The swelling was once two and a half by 
three inches in size and as thick as the fleshy part of a man's hand. The cheek, 
neck, and right eye were also swollen. Now, however, the surrounding swell- 
ing has entirely disappeared, and the lines of the gland were distinctly evident, 
while the glandular swelling proper was reduced about one-sixth. It is stated 
that the walls between the pockets of pus in the gland are gradually breaking 
down and that there is a fair prospect of the gland being a safe condition after 
a few days more. This trouble obviated, the physicians expect to have plain 
sailing, if, however, the President's system will not decline under the contin- 
ued strain. To nourish the system the same means are being resorted to. 
Enemata are administered at stated intervals, and the President takes liquid 



136 

nourishment easily and in sufficient quantity. Koumiss, milk porridge, pep- 
tonized milk, and chicken Ijroth still constitute his bill of fare, with another 
piece of toast added yesterday. 

The increased pulse shown by tlie noon bulletin, and caused, according to 
the s.urgeons, by tlie irritatien consequent upon the incision of the gland, re- 
sulted in creating considerable uneasiness outside the White House. Inside, 
however, it was better understood how light a matter affected the patient's 
pulse, and all other indications being favorable, it seemed no cause for alarm. 
The surgeons agreed that the whole trouble was now with the gland and its ef- 
fect on the system. The President particularly dislikes the frequent incisions 
that have had to be made. One of his attendants said he dreads them. This, 
doubtless, did much toward increasing the pulse in the morning. It began to 
decrease soon after noon, however, and the evening's bulletin was so satisfactory 
that the feeling was one of general quiet . There had been no difference of opinion 
during the day among the physicians in regard to the continued favorable char- 
acter of the case. Dr. Bliss stated last night that he was very w^ell satisfied 
with the progress of the case. There had been no great general gain, but the 
gland was improving every hour. He had not expected the case to take a de- 
cided turn toward recovery until the gland was less troublesome; now he ex- 
pected to see the beginning of marked improvement by Saturday or Sunday. 
He said the wound was doing nicely, that the flow of pus wa^ better in charac- 
ter and quantity than it was a week ago. Dr. Reyburn said his hope was no less 
than on Monday, and that it increased every hour with the improvement of 
the gland. Dr. Woodward said the President was doing well. He said, too, 
that fluctuations of pulse, and temperature, too, must be expected as long as 
the gland remained troublesome, but that he thought the case Avas progressing to 
entire satisfaction. Dr. Barnes keeps very quiet, and is evidently waiting to 
see signs of a more decided improvement before renewing confidence. Miss 
Edson, too, said there had been nothing unfavorable in the progress of the 
case during the day. Dr. Boynton was liardly as confident in his remarks yes- 
terday as Monday. He did not think the wound looked quite so well as it 
might. He admitted that the President was no worse than Monday, but said 
he was very little better. Dr. Boynton further said that a very close watch is 
being kept on the possible outbreak of septic evidences in other parts of the 
President's body. No indications of the spread of such a condition had yet 
been discovered. He would be better satisfied if the granulation of the 
wound were more marked. He was satisfied with the way the stomach be- 
haved, and the only adverse point made by the doctor was that no marked gain 
was yet apparent. In the course of a late conversation. Dr. Boynton said 
that were it not for the advent of septicaemia in the President's case he would 
now be convalescent. That the stomach trouble of two weeks ago. the gland- 
ular complication, the stupor and deliriam, the rapid pulse, loss of strength, 
etc., were all due to this cause. That the wonderful vitality of the President 
had enabled him to overcome all of the dangers and complications attending 
the wound prior to the occurrence of blood poisoning. That in his case sep- 
ticemia had undermined the very foundations of life, producing a condition 
much resembling typhoid fever," attended with stupor, delirium and great 
prostration. The processes of digestion and assimilation had been pretty 
much arrested, so tliat, although he partook of a sufficient amount of nutri- 
tious food, he became greatly emaciated and exhausted. The blood, beside 
being vitiated by the absorption of septic matters, had become more and more 
depraved on account of the failure of the system to assimilate food and trans- 
form it into blood. The President had been laboring under influence of this 
blood poison for some time, and during the past week it became evident that 
unless a favorable change soon occurred his vital powers would give way. On 
Friday evening a change for the better was noticeable, the first indication of 
it being an abatement of the stupor and delirium. This was followed by the 
appearance of other favorable symptoms, which indicated that the blood poi- 
soning was being eliminated and that the system was making an effort to rally 
from the terrible depression caused by the pyaemia. The problem was now to 
sustain his strength until nature could further eliminate the poison. The 
President Avas weaker on Saturday than at any previous time, yet his condition 
was less critical than on the two preceding days. On Saturday it was more a 
struggle with exhaustion, the cause of the exhaustion having to some extent 



137 

been removed, while on the preceding days the exhaustion was not nearly so 
great, with no apparent abatement of the cause. If the blood poison con- 
tinued to be eliminated and no more septic matters were absorbed, the President 
would slowly but surely regain his strength. In his present condition it was 
not impossible tliat there might be further absorption of septic matters, bring- 
ing with it serious complications, but it was confidently hoped that such will 
not be tlie case. No irreparable mischief had occurred to any of the vital or- 
gans, and recovery was more than probable As the processes of digestion and 
assimilation became more fully re-established better blood would be manufac- 
tured from the food, which, as it circulates through the system, would stimu- 
late to more healthy action all the functions of the body. The process of 
repair in the wound, which was now at a complete standstill, would be re-es- 
tablished, the discharge of pus, which had almost ceased, would again become 
normal as to quantity and quality, granulations would spring up and the wound 
rapidly heal. The glandular trouble, although the result of the septic and de- 
praved condition of the blood, became not only an annoying but a dangerous 
complication, and its subsidence was a very important element in bringing 
about a favorable change in the President's condition. In answer to the 
question as to the diiference between septicaemia and pyremia. Dr. Boynton 
stated that the same condition of blood poisoning in a patient might be pro- 
nounced pyiemia by one physician and septicaemia by another : but that in all 
cases septicsemia iM*ecedes pyaemia; that septicaemia could and did exist inde- 
pendent of pyjemia, but that pyaemia had no existence independent of sep- 
ticaemia; that, of necessity, the two conditions often existed simultaneously in 
the same patient. 

During the evening the President enjoyed two naps and took nourishment 
twice. An enema was administered at the usual hour. The pulse remained 
pretty high till midnight, but no other unfavorable symptoms appeared. 

At midnight there were no new indications of a discomfiting nature. The 
President's pulse had been fluctuating between 108 and 114, but his temperature 
and respiration were normal. 

At 2 o'clock the pulse was averaging lower than an hour or two before, and 
the other surface symptoms were satisfactory. The President had been sleep- 
ing fairly well so far into the night. 

The 3 o'clock report from the sick room indicated that there was no change 
up to that hour. The prospects were then regarded as favorable for a good 
morning bulletin. 

The following was sent at 10 P. M. to Minister Lowell and Minister Morton: 
"The President, if not rapidly advancing, is at least holding his own. His 
fever was less than last night, and his swollen gland steadily improves. His 
pulse continues rather high, running this evening from 110 to 114. Perhaps the 
best indication in the case is that the President himself feels better, and his 
mind being now perfectly clear, he readily compares one day's progress with 
another. Blaine, Secretary. 

Auqust 30.— The only feature out of the ordinary run of events since 
the President has commenced to improve was the rise in pulse and temper- 
ature, as shown by the evening bulletin. This rise was relatively consonant as 
regards those two symptoms. It was explained by the announcement that 
there had been accumulated a quantity of pus since the handling of the gland 
in the morning. The evening dressing resulted in the evacuation of that pus, 
after which the slight fever subsided, and the pulse and temperature lowered 
with it. Later in the night the pulse went up in accord with the history of the 
case. Early this morning the pulse went down again, and at the morning ex- 
amination registered 102 — two beats higher than yesterday morning. The 
President slept well. His sleep was perhaps a little less satisfactory than the 
night before, but so little less that it was almost imperceptible. The wound 
at the morning dressing was found to be in very good condition. After the 
examination followed the dressing. The gland discharged freely and the wound 
was evidently resuming its operation of granulation, which was suspended dur- 
ing the recent and most dangerous crisis. An accumulation of pus in another 
place in the gland was apparent. 

Another incision was made to remove it. Dr. Bliss used the lancet and made 
a slight cut in the neck below the jawbone, on the right side of the face. It 
was a very slight cut. It was followed by a discharge of healthy pus. After 
10 



138 

the new incision was made the opening was connected with the incision in the 
cheek by means of tubing, and the two cells were thoroughly washed out. This 
makes five outlets for matter from as many cells where the pus has gathered in 
the parotid gland. Four outlets were made by the doctors. Th^ oth< r was 
from the inward bursting and flow of pus through the ear. Every outlet, in- 
stead of being of a dangerous tendency, is a very good sign. It is of great ben- 
efit to the patient to have the accumulated matter come out of the system. 

Another notable and satisfactory feature was observed at the morning dress- 
ing. The gland was softer to the touch. It is softening in all its surface. The 
physicians would probably say "the tumefaction is subsiding." The patient 
was given this morning the usual liquid nourishment, and again he took milk 
toast— a small quantity. There is not yet noticeable any increase in strength; 
but there is no loss. It is not expected that vitality will be increased for sev- 
eral days; but the mere fact there is no loss is in itself, at this time, considered 
a gain. All the symptoms continue favorable. 

10:15 A. M. — The President's stomach still continues to perform its work 
satisfactorily, and the parotid gland is progressing favorably. His pulse, tem- 
perature, and respiration, as compared with yesterday morning, are about the 
same. On the continuance of these favorable symptoms another day of prog- 
ress is predicted. 

The President has not been given any chicken or chicken broth yesterday or 
to-day. In his present condition, it is not advisable to feed him on solids. The 
milk toast, which can hardly be termed a solid, and the very little chicken 
jelly — the latter of which was administered yesterday afternoon — are the only 
things approaching the solid that have been given him. That form of food will 
not be returned to for some time yet. There is now considered to be no dan- 
ger of the gland sloughing off. That danger was to be feared before suppura- 
tion set in, but it is not now apprehended. The right side of the face, although 
the inflammation has gone down, is still much swollen. After the morning 
dressing, there was during the afternoon a rise in the pulse. Prom 102 it went 
up to 110, and hung about there. 

12:30 P. M. — At the morning dressing another small incision was made in the 
lower part of the swelling, on the right side of the President's face, which was 
followed by a free discharge of healthy-looking pus. A similar discharge took 
place through the other openings. The swelling is perceptibly smaller and looks 
better. The wound remains in an unchanged contiitlon. There has been little 
rise of temperature since morning, but the pulse is more frequent. In other 
respects the condition is about the same. Pulse, 116; temperature, 98.9; respira- 
tion,18. [Signed by five surgeons. Dr. Hamilton being absent.] 

The cause of the rise of pulse noticed in this bulletin is attributed to the incis- 
ion made this morning and the disturbance caused by tiie &qreezing necessary to 
exude the pus. 

Within three-quarters of an hour after the issuance of t 12:30 bulltMn the 
President's pulse was taken, and showed that it had gone down io v/here it was 
during the forenoon. It went down to 110. Colonel Rockwell 'ays that the 
President's hair has not got any grayer, but that he imagines that the gray has a 
little more white in it. 

The President complains some this afternoon of the sensitiveness of the swollen 
side of his face. That the swelling is diminishing is evident. The incisions made 
in the face are washed out with permanganese of potash. The connections between 
the two incisions heretofore noted is made by means of a probe under tlie flesh of 
course. A fli-w of permanganese potash through the probe thoroughlj' cleanses 
the two connected cavities. 

There has been within the past few days a slight shifting in the position of the 
ball. Ir has worked its way downward a little. Tliis can be told by feeling upon 
the outward portion of the anterior wall of the stomach. The hard resistance 
heretofore met with in pressing upon that part of the stomach where the ball 
was located, lias disappeared, and tlie fact is apparent that it made a downward 
movement. This progress has been slight. It is thouglit that the change in the 
locality of the ball might have been tlie cause of the recent favorable change in 
the President's condition. A report has been circulated to some extent that the 
ball was passed through the rectum last Saturday. It has not been passed. Dr. 
Bliss says that if the ball is taken out it will require a surgical operation. Another 
report that is circulated is that the ball is in the rectum; that it was lodged there 



139 

in the first place, and the physicians mislocated it or that it has worked its way 
backward into the abdominal cavity, and is now lodged in the less dangerous local- 
ity, the rectum. Both of the reports are pronounced as untrue as the report that 
the ball had been passed. But it is a fact that there has been a slight change in 
the locality of the bullet. 

At 3 o'clock there was nothing new to note in the President'o condition. He 
has slept some during the day and has taken the usual amount of nourishment. 

Dr. Bliss has just said that he considers the President's condition as keeping at 
the satisfactory point. He is no worse than yesterday. 

His pulse has fluctuated more to-day than yesterday. Very few people have 
been at the White House. 

Mrs. Garfield prepares the beef extract that is now administered to the Presi- 
dent. Her husband likes her handiwork better than the already prepared article. 
Tlie preparation which Mrs. Garfield gets up is made by taking one pound of lean 
beef and cutting it up fine. The beef particles are then put in one pint of cold 
water and six drops of muriatic acid are added. After being thoroughly mixed it 
is allowed to stand one hour and then strained and pressed until all the liquid is 
extracted. 

Mrs. Garfield does not spend all her time in the sick room now. She is, how- 
ever, there during the greater portion of the day. 

Intelligence of the shooting of President Garfield produced a profound sensation 
at the several civilized settlements along the west coast of Africa. The feeling in 
Liberia was intense, promptly finding expression in the following by order of 
President Gardner: 

Department of State, Monrovia, July 28, 1881. 

Sir: I am directed by the President to acknowledge the receipt of your commu- 
nication conveying the startling intelligence of an attempted assassination of Pres- 
ident Garfield, and to express the deep horror which the President experienced at 
the sad news, and further to beg you to convey to your Government the earnest 
congratulations of the President at the escape of President Garfield, and his hope 
also that President Garfield's health has not seriously suffered from, the dastardly- 
attempt upon his valuable life. 

I have the honor to be, sir, your obedient servant, G. W. Gibson, 

Sct^reiary of State. 

Hon. J. H. Smyth, 

U. S. Minister- Resident, ^c, U. S. Legation, Monrovia, Liberia. 

Secretary Blaine sent the following telegram to Minister Lowell last night: 

At half-past ten to-night the general condition of the President is favorable. 
Late in the afternoon his pulse rose to 112 and his temperature to 100, both a little 
higher than the surgeons expected. Pulse has now fallen to 108 and fever is sub- 
siding. The parotid swelling is steadily improving and is at last diminishing in 
size. Apprehensions of serious blood-poisoning grow less every hour. 

Executive Mansion, 6:30 P. M. — The dally rise of the President's tempera- 
ture began later this afternoon than yesterday, but rose eight-tenths of a degree 
higher. The frequency of his pulse is now the same as at this hour yesterday. He 
has taken willingly the liquid food prescribed during the day, and had besides 
during the morning a small piece of milk-toast. At the evening dressing a pretty 
free discharge of healthy pus took place from the parotid swelling, which is per- 
ceptibly diminishing in size. The wound manifests no material change, Pulse^ 
110; tenjperature, 100.5; respiration, 18.— [Signed by five surgeons.] 

The total imount thus far received for the Garfield fund has reached $163,000. 
Mr. Fred. Wolfe, of Montgomery, Ala., called on Mr. Cyrus W. Field yesterday 
and gave him his cbeck for $500. 

August 31. — It can be said that the President passed a comfortable night. 
The sensitiveness of the gland of which he complained yesterday afternoon 
abated and he was without pain during the night from that cause. His sleep 
was tranquil. The pulse went up during the night, as usual, and again repeated 
itself during the early hours of the morning by going down. The night was de- 
void of interest of incident in the sick room beyond the regular attendance upon the 
patient. The morning examination demonstrated that the wound was in an im- 
proved condition, and that the healing was going on. The gland also was in an 
improved condition. It had diminished perceptibly, and the discharge was full 
and freer. An agreeable absence is to be noted as the result of the morning dress- 



140 

ing. There was a break in wliat had become the daily cuttins; into some other cell of 
the a;land. The great dwindling away of the gland and the absence of necessity 
for a new opening shows that it is healing. The bulletin this naorning dwindled 
down to its proportions of the successive days when there was nothing but improve- 
rnent to be noted. It was as follows : 

8.30 A. M. — The President has passed a tranquil night and this morning his con- 
diton is quite as favorable as yesterday at the same hour. Pulse, 100; tempera- 
ture, 98.4 ; respiration, 18. — [Signed by the six surgeons.] 

This morning beefsteak again made its appearance in the President's bill of fare. 
In addition to the liquid nourishment which he was given, he chewed a piece of 
steak and swallowed the juice. The change of locality of the ball is perfectly 
apparent, and is clear proof that it has not been encysted. It has not been in its 
new position — a lirtle further down — long enough to become encysted there. Un- 
less it should become encysted, the ball will at some time have to be taken out. 
It may shift to a place where there would be considerably less danger in taking it 
out when the time arrives than there now is. 

12.30 P. M. — At the dressing of the President this morning the parotid swelling 
was found to be di^charginj; freely. It looks well and has materially diminished 
in size. The wound remains in about the same state. His general condition is 
evidently more favorable than at this hour yesterday. Pulse, 55 ; temperature, 
98.4; respiration, 17.— [Signed by the six surgeons.] 

The noon bulletin confirmed the information of the morning that the President 
was better tnan yesterday. The pulse was 21 beats lower than at the same hour 
yesterday. It was a very favorable bulletin. 

The following was sent this afternoon: 

Lowell, MinhUr^ London: — The President's condition is very encouraging 
to-day. Pulse down to 95; lower thau it has been for several weeks. Tem- 
perature and respiration normal. No adverse symptonis apparent at this hour 
(2 P. M.) Blaine, Secretary. 

The President passed the afternoon up to 3 o'clock very quietly. His pulse 
remained below 100, and he rested some. The White House was very quiet. 
The day so far has been a very good one. It is much better than yesterday, 
which, on the whole, was a bad day. 

Rev. J\ D. Power, pastor of the Vermont Avenue Christian Church, has 
written a letter concerning the President's character as a Christian man, in 
which he says: "He has never hesitated when it was necessary to testify to his 
faith. He lias lectured publicly in this 'Christian Church,' within two years, 
on the evidences of the Christian religion, and he has for six years been a de- 
vout and constant worshipper and communicant." 

The following is an extract from a letter wa-itten by Mrs. Garfield to the 
President's mother only a day or so before his recent great danger: 

Washington, August 23. 

Dear Mother: Slowly, but very steadily James is coming up from this 
trouble with his stomach. I begin to wonder what can happen next, and 
whether there is any lower note in the scale for him to touch. But if there is, 
I shall not despair, and yon must not. His strong constitution and superabun- 
dant vitality 1 believe will carry him through. I begin to see how little I knt)W 
of the troubles attending such a wound. It seemed to me that when he ,got 
through the first week and then the second so well it must be plain sailing.' I 
can now understand why the surgeons were never ready to say that the dangers 
were all past. They would say that they thought they were, &c. It has been 
a strange, disappointing summer, but if we all come through alive and well w^e 
will not complain. 

September 1. — The President did not rest as well last night as the night be- 
fore; but there was no cause for alarm in his condition. His pulse went up 
after the evening bulletin. Between 8 and 9 o'clock the fever came on, and 
the pulse, which at 6:30 was 100, mounted upward. It fluctuated some. Its 
highest point was 116. After midnight the fever went down, and the pulse 
receded with it. The sleep during the early part of the night, though fairly 
good, was not as restful as it was after midnight. On the whole, the night 
was a good one. The President this morning is doing very well. The bulletin 
issued after the morning examination was as follows: 



141 

Towards 9 o'clock last evening, the President had some feverishness, and 
his pulse ranged from 108 to 116. This condition, which was unaccompanied 
by rigors or sweating, had subsided by midnight, and did not interfere with his 
sleep. He had, on the whole, a good night, and this morning his condition is 
fully as favorable as yesterday at the same hour. Pulse, 100; temperature, 98.4; 
respiration, 17.— [Signed by five surgeons.] 

This bulletin caused some apprehension from the fact that rigors were mentioned, 
even although it was stated that there were none. Dr. Bliss, in answer to a question 
upon this point, said that people would find something to complain about in any 
bulletin. There was not the slightest significance to be attached to the appearance 
of the word rigor in the bulletin. The President's fever has been higher for the 
past twenty days towards midnight than it was last night, and the fever has been 
more marked. In fact the President's state before midnight last night was an 
improvement. The fact that the mere appearance of the word " rigor " even in a 
negative way, caused apprehension shows how quick the public is in digesting and 
theorizing upon the bulletins. This morning in addition to his liquid nourishment, 
the President took a piece of beefsteak, and after chewing it swallowed the juice ; 
he also took some beef gruel. 

The parotid gland looks better than it did yesterday, the swelling having been 
considerably reduced. There is a slight flow of pus through the opening in the 
cheek into the mouth. This is thrown off by the President in expectoration. The 
act of expectoration eliminates mattei from the throat inpartsabout one -half pus 
and one-half mucous, an improvement since yesterday. The President is this 
morning in better condition than yesterday morning, speaking in general terms. 
His pulse since the morning bulletin continued good and remained at about the 
figures given in the bulletin during the early part of the forenoon. 

12:30 P. M. — At the morning dressing of the President the abscess of the parotid 
gland was found to be discharging freely. It lookswell and continues to diminish in 
size. The .•^tate of the wound remains the same. His general condition is not 
materially different from what it was at this hour yesterday, except that the pulse 
is somewhat more frequent. Pulse, 108 ; temperature, 98.6 ; respiration, 18. — 
[Signed by five surgeons.] 

This bulletin shows that the pulse was thirteen beats faster than at the same 
hour yesterday. The bulletin rather added to the impression that got abroad early 
this morning that the President was not doing so well to-day. 

6:30 P. M.— The President has passed a better day than for sometime past. 
He has taken his food with increased relish, and the usual afternoon rise of tem- 
perature did not occur. At the evening dressing the fluid used to wash out the 
parotid abscess found its way into the mouth, which it did not do this morning, 
showing that an opening into the mouth has spontaneously occurred. The ab- 
scess is discharging freely and the swelling continues to diminish. There is some 
increase in the discharge of pus from the wound. Pulse, 109 ; temperature, 98.6; 
respiration, 18. 

The inflow of fluid into the mouth, as noted in this bulletin, caused some little 
anxiety in the outside world last evening. It was feared that pus would find its 
way into the mouth and throat. The doctors said that pus went downward in- 
stead of upward. The position of the outlet was such as would preclude the 
possibility of pus getting into the throat. The opening into the mouth is a very 
small one. 

Secretary Blaine sent the following dispatch to Minister Lowell last night at 10 
o'clock : -'The Presidenthas less fever this evening than upon any previous evening 
since he was wounded. His temperature at 6 o'clock was normal. The entire 
day has been most encouraging in all his symptoms. Hereafter I shall send but 
one report daily." 

The best that can be said of the President is that he holds his own. That is, he 
still maintains the point to which he rallied from his last relapse, without percep- 
tible gain of strength. 

It is not expected that he will begin to "pick up" until existing drafts upon his 
system have somewhat further ceased. In the meantime the gland and the wound 
are doing well. The mcreased pulse and temperature tliat were noticeable yester- 
day are attributed in part to the hot and depressing weather. 

The question of the President's removal is being considered again. If practi- 
cable a change is certainly desirable. The patient is weary enough of the White 



142 

House, and the atmosphere of that locality is liable to be even worse in September 
than it was in July and August. 

The following was sent last night : 

Lowell, Minister, London: The President continues to do well in eating and 
digestion, and the swollen gland steadily improves. But in the past twenty-four 
hours he has made no substantial progress in his general condition. In the judg- 
ment of his physicians, however, he still holds the ground gained on Sunday and 
Monday last. His pulse and temperature to-day have shown marked increase from 
the record of yesterday. The weather to-day has been exceedingly warm and 
sultry, and this may account in part for the adverse shanges noted. In the Sep- 
tember climate of Washington .such an oppressive day as this has been is rare. 

Blaine, Secretary. 

8:30 A. M. — The President slept well during the night, and this morning his con- 
dition is in all respects as favorable as yesterday at the same hour. Pulse, 100 ; 
temperature, 98 4; respiration, 17.— [Signed by five surgeons.] 

12:30 P. M. — The President's condition has not materially changed since the 
morning bulletin was issued. Pulse, 100; temperature, 98.7; respiration, 18. — 
[Signed by five surgeons.] 

September 2. — The President had a recurrence of the high pulse and restless- 
ness'of four nights ago. As the early hours of the morning came on, the pulse 
went down and sleep went on ; after 1 o'clock the President slept well. He is a 
very little weaker than yesterday morning, but otherwise he has held his own. 
The physicians say that the President is keeping about even. This morning the 
breakfast of the patient was'somewhat varied. He had some milk toast, and got 
the benefit that lies in the breasts of three reed birds cut up in fine pieces. The 
President did not swallow the meat, but the juice of the slightly underdone reed- 
bird meat was assimilated. This morning it is more than ever imperative that the 
President shall be removed. The doctors say this. It is now only a question of 
at what time, and how the removal shall be made by rail. Removal by water is 
now one of the things not taken much into consideration. Dr. Bliss was thor- 
oughly out of all concert? with a voyage by water after he inspected the Tallapoosa 
yesterday afternoon. He was never much in love with tliatprrject anyhow. The 
morning bulletin showed nothing bad, but at the same time it was not as good as 
might have been expected from the favorable announcement of last night. It was 
as follows : 

8:30 A. M. — The President was somewhat more restless than usual during the 
early part of the night, but slept better after 1 A. M. This morning his general 
condition does not differ materially from what it was ac the same hour yesterday, 
except that there is a slight increase in the frequency of the pulse. Pulse, 104; 
temperature, 98.6 ; respiration, 18. — [Signed by five surgeons.] 

At the dressing of the wound this morning it was found not to have been much 
changed. Tliere was a slight improvement in it, however. There was a discharge 
of pus from the wound, and it had become thicker and more healthy in appear- 
ance. There had been no discharge from the wound for several days until this 
morning to ppeak of. The parotid gland was further diminished, and the dis- 
charge from it was satisfactory. The gland is not yet healing, but is doing as well 
as it could do. There is no indication that pus has accumulated in other parts of 
the body, nor is there any fear on that account entertained. 

The Prosident passed the forenoon comfortably. His pulse went down below 
the figures of the morning bulletin about 11 o'clock. His condition was a little 
better at 11 than it was this morning. There was but little if any fever. All 
reports from the sick room were that all was going well and the President was 
holding his own. 

Executive Mansion, September 2, 6:30 P. M. — The President has passed a 
comfortable day, and this evening appears better than for some days past. He 
has taken a larger proportion of nutriment by the mouth, and manifested greater 
relish for it. His pulse shows some inn)rovement as regards frequency and 
strength. The parotid abscess continues to improve. The wound shows, as yet, 
little change. This evening his pulse is 104; temperature, 99.2; respiration, 18. 

Secretary Blaine's dispatch last night to Minister Lowell was as follows : 

"The President has had a very satisfactory day, and, in the judgment of his 
surgeons, all his symptoms are favorable to-night. Taking the 24 hours through, 
he has had less fever and better appetite than for many days past." 



143 

12:30 P. M.— The President's condition has not matenally changed since the 
morning bulletin was issued. Pulse, 104 ; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 18. — 
[Signed by the six surgeons.] 

The President was rt^ported to be still doing well at 3 o'clock, and nothing had 
occurred to disturb him. 

The conference of surgeons to-day resulted in a decision that the President should 
be removed as soon as he is strong enough. It was also decided that he was not 
strong enough to be removed now. It was also decided that he be taken to Long 
Branch, and that he ba taken there by rail. Arrangements to carry their decision 
into effect will be immediately commenced. 

That the President will go to Long Branch tliere is not much doubt. It is not 
thought that thff change could be made inside of four or five days. Dr. Bliss says 
it will be impossible to take along newspaper correspondents, as a guard of soldiers 
will go with the President. 

It can be stated on the authority of one of the physicians at the conference that 
tiie President will be moved just as soon as the preparations are made. These have 
already commenced. He will be out of the city in a very few days— probably in- 
side of Feventy-two hours. 

September 3. — The President did not pass a good night. His pulse fluctuated 
during the night and he was feverish. There was no recurrence of vomiting, and 
there was none this morning up to noon. Sleep overtook the President about 10 
o'clock last night, but he did not rest at all comfortable until after midnight. He 
talked about his removal and the ai'rangements for it. Although every eftbrt was 
made to quiet him he would not, for a time, be quiet, but persisted in talking of 
the matter and arranging the details of his going. Dr. Bliss and the others told 
him that all arrangements were being made as rapidly as possible, and that as soon 
as they were completed they would start on their journey. This morning he was 
very weak, but there was no change for the A\orse beyond the fact of biiog a little 
weaker than yesterday. His pulse has become more tractable. Tliis morning he 
took beef extract and chicken broth. Three squirrels which were brought from 
Arlington this morning are being prepared for him. The following was the morn- 
ing bu'letin : 

8.30 A. M. — The President was somewhat restless during the early part of the 
night, but slept well after midnight. He has taken by the mouth and retained 
the nutriment prescribf^d. This morning his pulse is less frequent than yesterday. 
His temperature is a degree above normal. Pulse, 102 ; temperature, 99 5; res- 
piration, IS.— [Signed by five surgeons] 

The President did not pass as comfortable a forenoon as was desirable. He was 
restless and his fever came on. His pulse ran up to 114 between 11 and 12 o'clock, 
and was high all during the forenoon. The Prcj-ident continued to talk about his 
removal this morning, and perhaps to that excitement liis higher pulse is to be 
attributed. The noon bu lie; in was as follows : 

12.30 P. M. — The President's condition has not changed materially since the last 
bulletin was issued, except that there is some change in the frequency of the pulse. 
He has taken with some relish the nourishmet administered by the mouth, and had 
no return of gastric irritability. Pulse, 114; temperature, 99.5; respiration, 18. — 
[Signed by five surgeons. 1 

The first thing the President asked Dr. Bliss this morning when he went 
into the room was: "Well, is this the last day in the White House V" Dr. 
Bliss tried to quiet him, telling him that he was doing so well where he now is 
that there was no necessityfor immediate removal. " No, no," said the Presi- 
dent, " I don't want any more delay." 

There was some uneasiness yesterday about the President's condition, which 
continued during the night. The patient was a little weaker yesterday. The 
recurrence of vomiting, which was caused by the gagging in the throat, was 
not looked upon with alarm by the doctors. The story of the day is told in the 
following: 

Lowell, Minister^ London: Last night the President did not rest well, and 
twice during the night his stomach was so disturbed that he vomited. During 
the day he has been better, and has swallowed the usual quantity of food and 
retained it. His pulse, however, has been higher than for the two pteceding 
days. His surgeons do not think he has lost ground, but he certainly has not 
gained since last night's dispatch. At this hour, 10:30, he is quietly sleeping. 

Blatne, Secretary. 



144 

September 4, 8:30 A. M. — The President vomited once late last evening, and 
once about an hour after midnight. Notwithstanding this disturbance he slept 
well most of the night, and this morning has taken food by the mouth without 
nausea and has retained it. His pulse is somewhat more frequent, but in 
other respects his condition is about the same as at this hour yesterday. Pulse, 
108; temperature, 98, 4t respiration, 18. 

12:30 P. M. — The President's condition has not changed materially since the 
last bulletin was issued, and there has been no further gastric disturbances. 
Pulse, 106; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 18. 

6:30 P. M.— The President has passed a comfortable day. He has taken his 
food with some relish, and had no return of tlie irritability of stomach reported 
in the morning"s bulletin. The parotid swelling continues to improve, and 
is now so far reduced that the contour of his face is restored. The wound 
shows no material change. The rise of temperature this afternoon has been 
very slight, but his pulse was more frequent throughout the day than yester- 
day or the day before, and he showed more fatigue after the dressings. Pulse , 
110; temperature, 99; respiration, 18. 

The details of the President's removal are being perfected this afternoon. 
He will not be taken from his bed. The bedstead will be removed from the 
White House to Pennsylvania avenue and Sixth street in a covered vehicle. The 
track was extended up to that point, as mentioned above, in order to avoid 
going over the cobble-stones which pave the streets immediately contiguous to 
the depot. Where the Belt line street-car road, the Ninth street road, and the 
Seventh street road cross the avenue there would be some jolting of the vehicle 
containing the President. This will be overcome by planking laid over the 
railroad ties. 

Superintendent Ely, who has charge of the motor department of the Penn- 
sylvania railroad and who has fixed up the President's car, called at the White 
House to-day in company with Attorney-General MacVeagh, and saw the sur- 
geons. He explained to them the arrangement of the car and answered all 
questions. It was decided that the surgeons should inspect the car during the 
day. The three cars will be occupied by the President, his family, the sur- 
geons, and those who go from the office. Mrs. Garlield and Miss Mollie will 
accompany the President. The surgeons, including Dr. Agnewand Dr. Boyn- 
ton, will go along. Mrs. Edson will also be taken on the train. Outside of 
those will be Private Secretary Brown, Colonel Rockwell and Mrs. Rockwell, 
General Swaim, and Colonel Corbin. Mr. Hendley, the official stenographer, 
may go. There will be no one from the President's office except Mr. Brown. 
There is no necessity of others going. If they are wanted after the President 
gets to Long Branch they will be sent for. The train will move at a very fair 
speed. No newspaper men will be on it. 

At Long Branch tlie Pretideut will occupy Fiancklyn cottage, near the Elberon 
hotel, which has been placed at his disposal. There also will be located Mrs. Gar- 
field, Miss Mollie, Gen. Swaim and Colonel and Mrs. Rockwell. Colonel Corbin 
will only remain at the Branch two or three days. There are two small cottages 
near Francklyn cottage. One of these will be occupied by the surgeons and the 
other bv Mr. Brown as a sort of an executive office. 

Car 33, in which the bed for the President is laid, was fitted for the occasion at 
Altoona, and left there yesterday. All the seats were taken out and the ear 
thoioughly renovated. A false top was put on a few inches above the roof of the 
car, in order to give the air an opportunity to circulate betn'ecn it and the roof, 
so as to keep the ^'ar cool. The partition was taken out and replaced bj" folding- 
doors, and storm doors added to the platform doors. Wire gauze was fastened on 
the outside of the car, completely inclosing the parlor apartment, to keep the 
car free from dust. The inside was hung with heavy curtains, and Brussels carpet 
was laid on tlie floor. Two large ice-b^xes, well-filled with ice, are in one apart- 
ment. On the sides of the car are several iieavy engine axles for ballast. About • 
the center of tlie apartment for the President, his bed is made — a mattress over 
fifteen inches deep beinji" set on two boards covered wich clotli, the ends resting 
on Qleats on the top cf the washboanl. and judging from the trial made he will 
ride easy. If the rate of speed should be twenty to twent.y-tive miles per hour 
the elevation, in going round the curves, (about five inches) will scarcely be per- 
ceived. 



145 

The project of removal to the train, near the Washin2;ton monument, has been 
given up, and when ready it is understood that the President will be removed 
down Pennsylvania avenue on a stretcher, in a covered wagon, and be lifted into 
the car at the corner of Sixth street and the avenue. To malie this possible Chief 
Engineer Walters had on the ground this morning a force of 300 men, who at 
once proceeded to lay a track on the east side of Sixth street, to that point from 
the main track, below the depot — a distance of over three liundred years. In less 
than two hours all the ties were down, and in two and a half hours the rails were 
in place, and a train, with gravel to ballast it, was ready to back on and do that 
work. 

Executive Mansion, September 5, 6:30 P. M.— No material change has taken 
place in the condition of the President since morning. The parotid abscess 
continues to improve, and the wound remains about the same. The pulse is 
somewhat less frequent than at noon. At present it is 108; temperature, 99.8; 
respiration, 18. Should no untoward symptoms prevent, it is hoped to remove 
the President to Long Branch to-morrow. 

Secretary Blaine's dispatch last night to Minister Lowell was as follows: 
" This has been the hottest day of the season, and the heat has told upon the 
President. His pulse and temperature have been higher than for several days 
past. In other respects there has been no special change either favorable or 
adverse. It is expected that he will be removed to Long Branch to-morrow. 
It is hoped the sea air will strengthen him." 



CHAPTER III. 
KEMOVAL TO LONG BRANCH, ELBERON, NEW JERSEY. 

September 6. — The President was removed from the city this morning. All 
night preparation went on in the White House. The doctors spoke not much 
of the President's condition, but of the President's removal. Most of the baggage 
from the White House was at the depot and in the car by 11 o'clock last night, but 
until 1 o'clock this morning there were trips to the train, with this or that thing 
that had been forgotten, or was not ready when the bulk of the baggage went 
down. The principal points under discussion by tlie doctors and nurses were as 
to the exact method of the removal. These discussions resulted in a slight change 
from the plan of yesterday. The bed upon which the President has lain was not 
taken into the express wagon, as was the intention. At 5:30 o'clock the actual 
removal commenced. The President was removed from his bed and placed upon 
a stretcher, which had been prepared during the night. The doctors and nurses 
took the stretcher up and carried it feet foremost down the stairs. It was taken 
down the private stairway, which is to the right of the building as you enter. A 
brief stop was made inside the glass doors which shut off the lower corridor of the 
house from the public vestibule. There the President was transferred to a bed 
which had been specially prepared for him. Along the sides of this bed had b3en 
run an outer framework of white pine. From the framework there branched out 
three handles on either side, braced with iron bandages. Upon it was a hair mat- 
tress, with sheet, blanket and pillow. The head of the mattress was elevated 
about 10 degrees more than was afforded by the pillow. The President was 
changed from the stretcher to this bed in a few minutes. The blanket and sheet 
were placed over him. Then was commenced the progress to the express wagon. 

The same people who had brought the President down stairs on the .stretcher 
took hold of the bed. They were General Swaim, Colonel Rockwell, Colonel Cor- 
bin, Dr. Boynton, Dr. Bliss, Dr. Reyburn and Mr. O. E. Rockwell. When the 
President wa^ out of the door and being moved toward the wagon some of those 
who had hold of the stretcher were relieved by Sergeant Dinsmore and Dubois, 
Atchison, Louis and Smith, of the White House. The express wagon, which had 
been in waiting for some houi's, had been backed close up to the eastern end of 
the porch. A movable platform of boards nailed together was extended from the 
porch to the tailboard of the wagon. Inside the wagon was a set of double bed 
springs. Lying thereupon and covering the sprir.gs was a section of planking 



146 

made for the purpose. The bed was taken in almost on a level, and rested upon 
the planking. There were cleats in the planking to i^revent a shifting of the bed, 
although such a thing could not have occurred, so gently but firmly was the bed 
managed by those on the wa^on. Dr. Boynton sat at the head of the bed, on the 
right side. ISText him in the wagon was General Swaini, and at the foot of the bed 
on the same side was Mr. O. E. Rockwell. On the left side of the wagon was 
Colonel Rockwell, Dr. Bliss ami Dr. Reyburn, in the order named, from the head 
of the wagon. Mr. Warren S. Young, of the White House executive force, stood 
at the foot of the bed. Dan Spriggins, one of the President's body servants, was 
also there. All having been comfortably arranged the horses, which were to haul 
the wagon to the depot, were put to "the pole. They had been standin-,'- by in 
ready harness for two hours. The small congregation of carriages, which, since 
half-past four, had been knotted around the White Hou-e portico, began to break. 

First there went a carriage containing Drs. Agnew, Barnes, and Woodward. 
Next came a carriage with Mrs. Edson, Miss MoUie Garfield, and Mrs. Rock- 
well. Mr. Brown in his buggy followed. These left by the front gate, and 
drove at good speed to the train. Mrs. Garfield and Mrs. Rockwell left al)out 
the same time, but by the back way. Then came the starting of the wagon 
containing the President. Sergeant Dinsmore was on the box with the driver. 
A slight word to the two horses, and they pulled over the sand which had been 
laid on the six feet of concrete between the porch of the White House and the 
roadway. As the wagon moved away the President waved liis left hand to 
those on the porch, and commenced his journey to Long Branch. 

His head wvas elevated considerably, and the bed being pretty high up a good 
view of him was to be had. He lay on his back squarely. A sheet and blanket 
covered his body np to the arms. Around the head was a bandage of white, 
saturated with water to keep his temples cool. The morning, even at that early 
hour, was very warm. His face was pale, but did not look as wan or wasted as 
it was thought by many it would look. There was surprise on the part of those 
who had not seen him since he was shot to note how much better he looked 
than they thought possible. His face, by no means, bore out the reports that 
he was attenuated even "unto a living skeleton. It was noticeable where the 
whiskers had been cut off on the right side in dealing with that troublesome 
gland. The President looked 100 per cent, better than any one who had formed 
an opinion as to his appearance could have expected. 

Slowly the wagon moved down the carriage way. It was followed by Steward 
Crump in a market wagon, and by Mrs. Garfield's maids in a carriage. The 
bed on its springs rose and fell easily with the heavy but pliant motion of the 
springs of the express wagon. There was no conversation among those steady- 
ing the President. Colonel Rockwell, with a large palm-leaf fan, kept the air 
around the President's head, constantly in motion. Tlie White House gates 
were passed in a few minutes, and the turn was made down the avenue. There 
was no jolting; there was no noise, save the heavy, dull sound peculiar to the 
motion of compact and heavy-built wagons. There were not over 150 people 
around the gate. Many of them had been there all night. They roosted and 
dozed on the stone of'tlie fencing around the grounds. 

There was not a vehicle or a car on the avenue from Seventeenth street down. 
Sergeant Perry had stopped all vehicles from coming upon the street below Seven- 
teenth street . Now in a rapid walk, now in a dog trot, the sturdy bays drew the 
wagon down the avenue. Policemen stationed at every corner of intercepting 
streets kept all people off the carriage-way, but allowed them on the sidewalk. 
The early crowd which was at the White House gate when the President passed 
through, followed at a short distance or kept apace with the wagon. The 
crowd was composed mostly of half-grown boys, bootblacks, and colored people, 
with now and then a young woman. There was no craining of necks to see 
the patient. He was so carried that all could look upon him by simply turning 
their heads in his direction. "He looks much better than we expected," was 
the general comment. He did not look any worse than he did when being 
taken into the house from the depot on the day Guiteau shot liim. 

The President laid on his back. lie turned his head now and then and took a view 
of the avenue as he went down and of the people walking b^^side him. There ap- 
peared to be a relieved expression on liis face, as if he were glad to get away. The 
horses went on steadily, keeping to the south side of the avenue. There were 
heads in the windows, .as the wagon passed on. The crowd just below the Treas- 
ury began to grow larger. 



147 

In a short time tbe carriage contaiuing Mr8. Garfield, Miss Mollie Garfield, Mrs. 
Edson and Mrs. Rockwell arrived, followed by the two servants, Lizzie Cutter 
and D. Spraggs, and they were shown seats in President Roberts' car. 

At twelve minutes past six o'clock the wagon containing the President arrived. 
Col. Rockwell, Col.Corbin, and Drs. Bliss and Reyburn, Gen. Swaim and E. O. 
Rockwell being on the sides of the wagon. The horses having been detached, the 
bed was carefiiUy lifted in. Some little time was taken in shifting the mattress 
on which the President had lain to the bed prepared for him. 

The train moved out about 0.30 o'clock, Washington time, and went off ap- 
parently without a jar. 

The train was made up as follows : Engine 658, known as an anthracite coal 
engine, P. R. R. standard, which is furnished with a muffer, to prevent the escape 
of steam. This was manned by Wm. Page, engineer, and J. W. Lami-om and E. 
Gwinnell, firemen, .John Uaglaub. engineer, and S. A. Reynolds, fireman, run- 
ning as local to Bay View. Car No. 268, [an Eastlake compartment car, in the 
bao-gao-e departmar.t of which were some twenty five or thirty pieces of baggage] 
fo" the attendants. Car No. 33, the Eastlake fitted up for the President and 
suro-eon, and car No. 120. President Roberts' private car, placed at the disposal of 
Mr". Garfield and the family. Mr. J. K. Sharpe, of the Baltimore and Poto- 
mac, was in charge of the train to Bay View, and it was run to tiiat point with 
Caot. T. L. Luckett as conductor, G. F. Schunian and D. C. Wilhelm as brakes- 
men; R. H. Geming, traveling operator; Mr. Ely, superintendent of motive 
power ; Mr. Elder, master car-builder ; Chas. Watts, general train-master. New 
York division, with J. jST. Whelpley, conductor ; .James Kelly and George R. 
Deane, brakesmen, who took charge of train at Gray 's Ferry. Baltimore and 
Potomac engine No. 5, with Jacob Fry engineer, and P. F.Riley firemen, pre- 
ceded this train ten minutes as pilot. Assistant Train-Master Bell being the con- 
ductor. ^ , _, _ , 

Beyond the recurrence of the nightly fever and restlessness, the President 
passed a comfortable night. He again talked about his removal, but was 
soon quieted by the st ttement that he would be taken away this morning 
without fail. After 11 o'clock it can be said that he slept well. There was no 
more vomiting. There was nothing of a disturbing character about his case. 
At midnight he was pronounced to be in better shape than for a week past. 
The night was oppressively warm, and the cooling operation was kept moving 
until the early hours of the morning. In making preparations for his journey 
no morphine or any narcotic was administered. He was given nutriment early 
this morning. It was of the liquid form. The President went away in what 
Dr. Reyburn said to a Star reporter at the depot was an " encouraging con- 
dition." 

Baltimore, Sei>Umber 6.— The President has stood the fatigues of travel up 
to this hour with remarkable fortitude. Eis pulse is even less frequent than 
it was before leaving Washington. It is now 106. The arrangements are so 
complete in every <ietail that the inconvenience to the President is reduced 
almost to a minimum. The bed upon which he is now lying is so carefully ad- 
justed that the vibration is hardly noticeable. The train ran from Waslungton 
to Baltimore at an average rate of speed, causing less annoyance than if it was 
reduced one half. At 7 o'clock the President took three ounces of beef tea with 
relish. J- S. Bkown. 

Baltimore, September 6.— The President's train passe^^TPerryman's, twenty- 
six miles east of Baltimore, at S:29. The following dispatches were thrown off 
the train : 

"■To Mrs. Eliza Garfield, Garrettsville, Ohio: 8:15 A. M.— All goes well up to 
this hour, and President standing the journey splendidly. 

"J. Stanley Bhown." 

"■To Dr. J. H. Baxter, U. S. A., Washinglon : Pulse on leaving 114; now 108; 
has slept; doing splendidly. S. A. Boynton." 

"■To Hon. Wayne MacVeagh, Elberon Hotel, ISf. J.: All goes well up to this 
hour. At this rate of speed will reach Elberon between 1 and 2 o'clock; pulse, 
106; arrangements most complete. His discomforts of travel reduced to mini- 
mum J- Stanley Brown." 



148 

Philadelphia, Sefjiemher 6.— Presidential train passed Havre-de-Grace, 
Maryland, thirtj^-six miles this side of Baltimore, at 8:59. A private dispatch 
from Havre de-Grace says the President is really enjoying his journey and is 
doing well. 

Gray's Ferry, Philadelphia, September 6. — President continues ♦^o do 
well. Brief stop made at Bay View and wound successfully dressed. Out of Bay 
View, by reason of good track, the speed was increased to 50 miles per hour, and 
no discomfort was felt by the President. The vibration of the bed was no greater 
than at a lower rate of speed. J. Stanley Brown. 

Newark, Del., September 6, 10:40 A. M. — The President's train arrived ^^ 
Charles Street depot, Baltimore, at 8.03 A. M.,— a slight delay having occurred ^t 
Patapsco while the engine was taking water and the attendants were changing the 
position of the patient. The train arrived at Bay View at 8:10, and left at S:17» 
and when the Baltimore and Potomac officials left Mr. Brown said that there was 
a decided improvement in the President's condition since he left the White House. 

By the time the first ten miles were passed, a speed of 25 miles per hour was 
reached, and Mr. Sharp sending to the President's car to know how the President 
rode received answer : "Excellently, you may increase your speed." The speed 
was thereupon increased to 35 to 40 miles per hour. Along the road at the stations 
small knots of people had gathered to see the train pass, and the train which 
under orders had taken the sidings, were lying as dead trains, there being no 
escape of steam from the engines. The engine of the special worked efficiently, 
but with the least possible noise, using neither bell nor whistle, and the windows 
having been gummed there was no rattling. 

Mrs. Gartield when the train started was somewhat nervous, but by the time 
the train reached OJenton she had recovered, and Colonel Corbin stated at Bay 
Vievv that she was perfectly delighted with the trip thus far. 

The President here beinjf asked how he bore the journey, said: "Why this is bet- 
ter than the White House." 

The train is passing here (53 miles from Baltimore) at 9:39, and it is apparent 
from the recent increase of speed that before the end of the journey a mile a min- 
ute may be made if the Presidential party do not object. The President slept 
some before reaching Baltimore — the gentle motion of the coach being conducive 
to sleep. 

Wilmington, Del., September 6.— The Presidential train passed through 
here at 10:10 A. M., moving through the city at the rate of about ten miles an 
hour. About 1,500 people had assembled at the depot. It was reported that 
the President was in good condition, the only»change since leaving Washington 
being a slight acceleration of pulse. 

Lamokin, Pa., 10:20 A. M., September Q. — The Presidential train made the 
run from Wilmington to Lamokin, fourteen miles, in fourteen minutes, and 
then stopped for coal. Ten men are engaged in getting the coal in quickly. 
She was seven minutes in coaling and left Lamokin at 10:21 A. M. 

Chester, Pa., September 6. — The Presidential train passed the depot here 
at 10:25 A. M., running at the rate of about twenty-five miles an hour. The 
President's car was apparently tightly closed, and no bulletin was thrown off. 

Chester. Pa., September 6.— While the locomotive of the Presidential train 
was receiving coal at Lamokin, Dr. Agnew told Dr. Milner, of this city, that 
the President had improved since he left Washington, and was getting along 
very comfortably. They were glad to get out of Washington, tor the heat was 
oppressive. The doctors on the train were well pleased with the progress the 
train was making, quite free from jolt or jar, and had high hopes of reaching 
Long Branch in good time and without any serious results. The President 
had suffered very little, fatigue. The crowd at the depot were very orderly, and 
showed their respect by not attempting to board the train. Dr. Agnew spoke 
from an open window, and seemed in excellent spirits. 

Passengers on the Presidential train say that the speed over the P.. W. & B. 
division of the road approximated forty-nine miles an hour. When the Presi- 
dent was informed that more than one-half of his journey had been completed 
he seemed greatly pleased, and said this was decidedly the most interesting day 
since he was shot. 

General-Superintendent Kenney, of the P., W. & B. division of the Penn- 
sylvania railroad, was on the President's train. He says it is true that the 



149 

President's pulse fell ten beats before reaching Baltimore. The President 
seemed cheerful, and when asked if he would like to travel faster, replied : 
"Yes, he rather liked it." Mr. Kenney says he seemed in very good spirits, 
and was not under the effects of any opiates. He was as rational as could be, 
and occasionally chatted with the doctors. Mr. Kenney added that he was sur- 
prised to see the number of people who turned out, particularly in country 
places, to witness the passage of the train. Even at prominejit stations, where 
there were crowds, people raised their hats with reverence, and all seemed af- 
fected by the gravity of the situation. Another dispatch from Long Branch, 
dated 1:35 P. M., saj's that the President's pulse is 110, and that the weather 
is hot, with a good breeze blowing. 

Dr. Boynton says here that the removal of the President promises to be a 
perfect success. He is confident that the patient will be in a better condition 
when he reaches Elberon than when he started. His pulse on leaving Wash- 
ington was 114, and at Philadelphia was 106. 

The presidential train passed through West Philadelphia without stopping at 
10:32 ; Mantaii, 10:5S ; North Penn Junction, 11:05 ; Frankford Junction, Il:08i ; 
Holmesburg Junntion, 11:14; Tullytown, 11:38; Moriissville, 11:47; Trenton 
depot, 11:48^; Princeton Junction, 11 :.59; MonraoUh Junction, 12:07 ; Dayton, 
12:10; Jamesburg, 12:14; Englislitown, 12:23; Freehold, 12:28 ; (running at the 
rate of a mile a minute,) Farmingdale, 12:37 ; Manasquan, 12:46 ; Sea Girt, 12:48. 

General Manager Frank Thomson, of the Pennsylvania Kailroad Company, 
receivod a dispatch this P. M. from Attorney-General MacVeagh, saying that 
everything is- working well at Elberon, and that if necessary the car containing 
the President will be pushed by hand over the track to Francklyn cottage. He 
will be taken up to the room door on his bed, and thence carrried a distance of 
about ten feet. An ambulance will follow the train alongside the new track to 
guarantee against accident, and a stretcher will be stationed in the cottage, when 
the change is made from one bed to another. There will be a covered platform 
from car to cottage, so that he will be protected from the sun, the entire distance 
being less than twenty feet. 

Long Bra.nch, jST. J., September 6. — Dr. Hamilton, one of the consulting 
surgeons, arrived at Long Branch at 9:30 o'clock this morning. In conversation 
with a representative of the Associated Press on the train, the doctor expressed 
the opinion that the President's removal from the malarious atmosphere of Wash- 
ington would soon prove beneficial. He did not attribute so much importance to 
sea air as to the general change of scenery, &c. He thought the fact that the 
President's desire to leave Washington had been granted would have a good 
moral effect upon him, and that he would commence to mend almost immediately 
upon his arrival. AVhen asked how long he expected that the President would 
remain at Long Branch, Dr. Hamilton said he could not venture an opinion ; in 
fact, he did not at this time desire to enter into any detailed conversation on the 
subject. 

The train which arrived at Long Branch at 9:30 conveyed a squad of regular 
troops from Battery A, 1st artillery. Governor's Island, under the command of 
Captain J. M. Ingalls, the other officers being 1st Lieut. T. C. Patt&rson and 2d 
Lieut. Wm. C. Raff'erty. The squad numbered 30, inclusive of officers. These 
troops will be placed about the cottages set apart for the presidential party. The 
cottages are all in readiness to receive the President, and large crowds have gath- 
ered about the Francklyn cottage. Much inconvenience is being experienced by 
representatives of the press owing to the inadequate telegraphic facilities, the nearest 
office to the President's quarters being about a mile and a half distant, and the 
only method of conveyance is by carriage or coach. Rooms have been set apart 
by the proprietors of the West End hotel for the accommodation of the Western 
Union Telegraph Company, and an additional force of men is expected to arrive 
during the day. There is a land breeze blowing and the day is quite sulty. 

The train bearing Lhe President reached Elberon station at 1 o'clock precisely. 
There was no delay in adjusting the switch, and five minutes later he was in the 
front of his quarters, the entire train being backed up almost to the door. The 
assembled crowd, and there were thousands, made no attempt to invade the line of 
soldiery deployed about the house and grounds. The multitude uncovered while 
the Pi-esident was being borne to the cottage assigned him. Dr. Bliss says the 
trip was made under the most favorable auspices. The pulse of the patient 
remained lower than yesterday in Washington, and to use the doctor's expression, 
he "really enjoyed the trip." 



150 

The special with the President arrived at Elberon 1:09 P. M. New Y-jrk time, 
and at 1:20 the President was in his room in the cottage. Pulse, 102. 

The sight of the ocean seemed to give the President delight. Ho said to those 
about him, "It is refreshing to get where I can look at the sea." The room 
where he was placed was large and handsomelj^ fu nlshed. When the President 
was taken in he noticed at once that the bed was so arranged that he could not 
look out at the sea, a nd he insisted that a chan\je in the furniture should at once 
be made, which was done. After a short rest, the surgeons proceeded to dress the 
wound, and its condition was fouud to be slightly improved, some healing indica- 
tions being observed. At 6 o'clock he went to sleep quietly and had an unbroken 
sleep of about two hours. At the dressing of the wound and evening examination 
the pulse was found to be 124 and temperature, 101.6 10; the highest it has been 
for some time. 

The evening official bulletin was as follows : " September 9, 6:30 P. M. — Since 
the last bullt'tin was issued the President has been removed from Washington to 
Long Branch. He was more restless than usual last night, being evidently some- 
what excited by anticipations of the journey. Tliis morning at 5:30 o'clock, his 
pulse was 118, temperature, 99:8 ; respiration, 16." We left Washington with the 
President at 6:30 A. M. Owing to the admirable arrangements made by the 
Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and to the ingeniously arranged bed designed 
by Mr. M. Ely, the fatigue incident to the transportation was reduced to a mini- 
mum. Nevertheless, as was anticipted, some signs of the disturbance produced by 
the journey have been exhibited since his arrival, by rise of temperature and in- 
creased frequency of pulse. At present his pulse is 124; temperature, 101.6; res- 
piration, 18.— [Signed by the six surgeons.] 

Secretary Blaine sent the following dispatch last night to Mr. Morton, minister 
at Paris, and to Mr. Lowell, minister at London : 

Long Branch, N. J., September 6.— The President left Washington at half- 
past six o'olock this morning and reached Long Branch at 1:20 P. M. He seemed 
to bear the journey well, though the heat was very oppressive. After his arrival 
he was for several hours restless. He showed signs of great fatigue, and com- 
plained that his back had a bruised feeling. His pulse rose to 124 and his tempera- 
ture to 101.6. At this hour, 10:30 P. M., he is sleeping, and his fever is abating. 
His surgeons regard his symptoms as the necessary result of the journey, and 
expect a favorable change on this air within the next two days. His fever is partly 
attributable to the excitement he felt at the prospect of coming. He earnestly 
desired to leave the White House, and his weary eyes welcomed the sight of the 
sea. The development of the next sixty hours are awaited with solicitude. 

Blaine, Secretary. 
All the members of the Cabinet are at Long Branch. Secretary Lincoln is 
quartered at Mr. Pullman's cottage, on Ocean avenue, while the remainder are at 
the cottage opposite the West End hotel. In conversation last night Secretary 
Lincoln said tne entire Cabinet would remain there for the present. 

September 7. — The New York Herald of to-day says: "An early train from 
Washington yesterday morning brought to this city Harry and James A. Garfield, 
Jr. The young men are on their way to Williamstown, Mass., where they expect 
to enter Williams College on or about Thursdaj'^ next. They are accompanied by 
their tutor, Dr. D. W. Hawkes. During the terrible suspense of the past few 
months both of the boys have been kept busy answering the President's letters, 
&c., but anxiety has told upon them, and they looked careworn and tired. Both 
are glad that their father has been removed from the White House, and are united 
in thinking that he will now rapidly improve. Tiie party will remain at the Fifth 
Avenue Hotel as long as possible so as to be ready to go to Long Branch at once 
if it becomes necessary.' ' 

Elberon, N. J., September 7, 8:30 A. M. — General Swaim, in discussing the 
condition of the President this morning, said that he had slept well all night , that 
his pulse was not more than 106, and that his temperature was but slightly iibove 
the normal. There is a very sanguine feeling among the attendants this morning. 
The morning bulletin will be issued shortly. 

9 A. M. — The President slept well the greater part of the night, awakening, 
however, as often as it was necessary to give nourishment, which he took very 
well. The fever reported in last evening's bulletin had subsided by 11 P. M. This 
morning his temperature is normal, and he appears to have quite recovered from 



151 

the fatigue of yesterday's journey. At the morning dressnig the parotid abscess 
was found to be doing well. The visible parts of the wound look somewhat better. 
Pulse, lOG ; temperature, 98.4; respiration, 18. The next bulletin will be issued 
TJt 6 o'clock this evening.— [Signed by the six surgeons.] 

12:10 P. M. — The situation regarding the President's condition continues favor- 
able, and the attending surgeons and Cabinet officers express themselves as entirely 
satisfied with the present outlook. The morning bulletin has had the eflect of 
allaying all uneasiness on the part of those who were extremely anxious lasi night, 
and it is confidently expected that the favorable symptoms will continue. The fact 
of the President having had sufficient recuperative power to rally from his depressed 
condition of last night is received as a very good indication that his recovery is 
only a question of time. Dr. Bliss thinks that the ocean air will henceforth have 
a decidedly bracing eifect on the patient. Attorney-General MacVeagh, who last 
night was extremely despondent, is feeling in good spirits this morning, and thinks 
that the change during the night was almost marvelous. Secretary Brown entered 
his office early this morning with a very pleasant smile on his countenance, and 
showed by his general conduct that there had been a change for the better. It 
having been decided to issue official bulletins but twice per day is another good 
indication, and tends to prove that the surgeons do not anticipate the occurrence 
of anything serious. The weather to-day is said to be the hottest of the season ; 
the thermometer at this hour is nearly 90 in the shade, with the land breeze blow- 
ing. 

2 P. M. — At the noon examination the President's pulse was 114, temperature 
slightly above normal, respiration 18. Dr. Boynton says the patient's condition is 
entirely satisfactory, and that he now expects daily improvement. 

Elberon, ]Sr. J., September 8, 8:30 A. M.— At the morning examination made 
at 8 o'clock, the President's pulse was 104 ; temperature, 98.7 ; respiration, 18. 
He was restless and wakeful during the early part of the night, but after 12 (mid- 
night) slept well until morning. His general condition appears more encouraging. 
— [Signed by Drs. Bliss and Hamilton.] 

Two physicians to-day sign the bulletins. All the others except Drs. Bliss, 
Agnew, and Hamilton have retired from the case. Drs. Barnes and Woodward 
left for Washington this morning. Dr. Reyburn will stop a day or two at Asbury 
Park. Before leaving Washington the President said he had too many doctors ; 
they were too expensive, and he preferred only the three who have been retained. 
Nevertheless the others came on yesterday. The President insisted upon a com- 
pliance with his request. At 9 o'clock last night Mrs. Garfield asked Dr. BJiss to 
notify the other doctors. This he did not do at once, whereupon Mrs. Garfield 
herself notified the ihree retiring doctors of the President's order that they should 
retire. She assured them that it need not reflect on their professional skill, as that 
did not enter into the question. Mrs. Edson is also retired, as there are many 
reasons why only male nurses should be in the sick room. She will leave for 
Washington to-night. 

Elberon, N. J., September 9, 9:15 A. M. — At the examination of the Presi- 
dent at 8 A. M., the temperature was 98.5; pulse, 100; respiration, 17. The con- 
ditions of the parotid and wound are improving. He was somewhat wakeful 
during the night, but not restless, and slept sufficiently. The enemata and stimu- 
lants have been suspended during the past thirty-six hours. On the whole the 
past twenty-four hours give evidence of favorable progress.— [Signed by Drs. 
Bliss and Hamilton.] 

" The official bulletin of this morning shows no unfavorable turn in the Presi- 
dent's case, although the reports are that it does not sufficiently set forth the bad 
night which the patient passed. While he aid not vomit during the night, his 
stomach was somewhat nauseated through what is attributed to over-feeding. 

Elberon, N. J., September 1(), 9:40 A. M,— Official Bulletin.— At the exami- 
nation of the President at 8:30 o'clock this morning the temperature was 99.4; 
pulse, 104; respiration 18. He slept well during the night, awakening only at 
intervals of one-half to one hour. There is a perceptible increase of strength with 
an improved condition of the digestive apparatus. The tumefaction of the paro- 
tid gland has entirely disappeared and the suppuration greatly diminished. The 
wound continues to improve and presents a more healthy appearance.— [Signed by 
Drs. Bliss and Agnew.] 



152 

12:33 P. M. — Dr, Bliss has just said ever5'thin^ is all ritrht. ..♦The reserve of those 
who have accefes to the President's cottao^e led some people tdl)elieve that the doc- 
tors feel disappointed. The great trouble now is to keep the patient's temperature 
down. 

2:25 P.M. — Dr. Agnew states that the %ures have not been taken recently. 
He considers the President quite as well as he was yesterday. 

2 P. M. — It can be authoritatively stated that the President is passing nearly, if 
not quite as good a day as yesterday. The pulse and temperature at the morning 
dressing, altliough higher than yesterday, are not indicative of anything serious, 
and do not disturb the feelings of the surgeons that the patient is doing nicely. 
During t!i? night the febrile rise caused the pulse to run up to a comparatively 
high figure, but it soon decreased again. As a matter of fact the President did not 
commence the day this morning under as favorable circumstances as yesterday, 
but after the morning dressing he began to grow stronger, and at 1 o'clock his 
condition compared favorably with that of yesterday, and there were no alarming 
or serious indications. Up to this time the figures are not obtainable. 

At 11 o'clock to-night Dr. Agnew said that the Piesident had had a very fair day. 
and that he was resting comfortably. Up to this hour there have been no signs of 
febrile rise. 

Elberon, N. ,T., SeiMmher 11, 8:30 A. M.— At the examination of the 
President this morning his temperature was 98.8; pulse, 104; respiration, 19. 
He was more restless, and the febrile rise later than on the preceding night. 
He continues to take sufficient nourishment without gastric disturbance.— D. 
W. Bliss, D. Hayes Agnew. 

The high pulse of the morning was due to the effects of the daily febrile 
rise, which, having lately been occurring at a later hour each day, began at so 
late an hour last night as to have extended over the period of this morning's 
examination. The President partook of the necessary amount of liquid and 
solid food by the mouth, and no enemata are now given. 

The official evening bulletin, when posted, caused a sensation in the hotels 
and cottages at Long Branch. Its entire character was a surprise, and the 
people read it over many times before finally accepting it as the official de- 
scription of the President's condition at the beginning of the eleventh week 
of his illness. It read as follows : 

6 P. M.— The President has passed a quiet day, although his temperature 
has been somewhat higher and his pulse more frequent than during the pre- 
vious twenty-four hours. At the evening dressing quite a large slough of 
connective tissue was removed from the region of the parotid gland. He con- 
tinues to take a sufficient quantity of nourishment, and enjoys it. At the 
noon examination the temperature was 100; pulse, 110; respiration, 20. At 
the evening dressing his temperature was 100.6; pulse, 110; respiration, 20. — 
D. W. Bliss, D. Hayes Agnew. 

All unofficial reports during the day had been so favorable the people were 
sure of a favorable bulletin this evening. Not more than twenty minutes be- 
fore the official bulletin was given out, some of the immediate attendants upon 
the President publicly said there was every reason to believe the examination 
then going on would result in the most favorable bulletin issued for many 
days. Dr. Agnew declined to be interviewed or make any extended explana- 
tion of the bulletin. 

What he did say, however, was in its full meaning a rather favorable view of the 
situation. He would not say the President had really gained anything since yes- 
terday. He was willing to be quoted as stating that he had lost nothing and had 
absolutelj'^ held his own. .This, the doctor explained, was not to be understood as 
a statement that the President's condition has remained merely stationary; it 
would bear a more favorable construction than that. Ever since the President 
was shot he had had i-elapses more or less depressing on every Saturday or Sun- 
day. At these relapses the President usually ran below the condition he held 
immediately preceding the relapse, and generally had had a very marked rise in 
pulse, temperature and respiration. During the present Saturday and Sunday he 
had suffered no such relapse, lo-night he was in the condition of a man who had 
held himself over Sunday in the condition he was on Saturday, which was favor- 
able and better than that of Friday, when he was and had been improving. That 
being the fact, the statement that he had held his own, that he had had no relapse, 



153 

had not slipped back, had passed the weekly period of relapse safely, meant some- 
thing more than that the case was stationary. To have held his own over such 
a period was indeed a fi;ain, and might be accepted as favorable. Dr. A^new con- 
cluded by sayina:; ."This is merely one of those little temporary fluctuations, and 
there is nothing serious about it. Also, you can say that there is nothing malar- 
ious about it." 

Attornej'- General MacVeagh said : "Of course this evening's bulletin will cause 
anxiety among the people, but really there is nothing in the present condition of 
the President to cause alarm. The high figures will be satisfactorily explained by 
the physicians and shown to be due to a temporary disturbance. If something far 
more serious than anything which appears in the bulletin had occurred we should 
not even then have been alarmed. This is Sunday, and every Sunday since the 
President was wounded he had had disturbances, and if one should have come 
to-day it would not have been surprising. But none did come, and this slight 
temporary alTection is a mild visitation of the usual periodical trouble. It is really 
getting through the periodical disturbance day with but little trouble, and should 
not be considered sericis. The President is actually getting along nicely. He 
had a quiet day and passed it well. He has been comfortable, bright and cheerful. 
I do not believe there is any periodicity in this." 

Elberon, JiT. J., September, 12, 9 A. M.— Official Bulletin.— The President 
passed an unusually good night, his sleep being uninterrupted except occasion- 
ally to enable him to take nourishment. The suppuration from the parotid 
gland has almost entirely ceased, the opening from which the pus discharged 
rapidly healing. The cough is less, and the expectoration materially dimin- 
ished. The temperature is 98.4 ; pulse, 100 ; respiration, 18.— [Signed by Drs. 
Bliss and Agnew.] 

10:15 A. M. — The morning bulletin has had the eSect of allaying somewhat 
the apprehension which was caused last night, and it is generally conceded by 
the attending surgeons that the patient is in a more favorable condition. 
Whether the lung trouble will pass away or develop into an abscess cannot 
yet be predicted. If tlie patient passes a quiet day and maintain the gain 
made during the night, his condition will be more favorable ; but until this 
time elapses it cannot be said that he has entirely overcome the lung 1 rouble. 
A continued favorable condition, however, may enable him to gain suthcient 
strength to override any serious results from the apprehended abscess on the 
right lung. The situation is considered sufficiently grave by the members of 
the Cabinet to v.arrant a postponement of the proposed trip to the White 
Mountains, and Postmaster-General James said this morning that he would 
go to New York, but should return this evening. The day is bright and bids 
fair to be quite warm. 

The news from the President to-day while not entirely reassuring is much 
more hopeful than the reports sent out from Long Branch last night. The 
morning bulletin states that the President passed an unusually good night ; 
that the cough was less and the expectoration materially diminished, while 
the respiration had fallen to 18. In view of the alarming reports concerning 
the condition of his lungs, the statement by the surgeons that there is less 
cough and expectoration and slower respiration will be accepted as hopeful 
signs. Had the oppression upon his lungs increased, the theory of the devel- 
opment of a dangerous abscess there from blood poisoning would have been 
alarmingly strengthened. That danger is by no means over, but the chances 
are, again, that the surgeons maybe able to deal as successfully with the new 
complication as they did with the trouble with the parotid gland. It is prob- 
able that the wet weather at Long Branch may have had an unfavorable elfect 
upon his lungs, and that the change to sunsliine and clear air to-day will give 
him relief. It is probable 'also that his visitation of fever yesterday was but 
a recurrence of the Aveekly Sunday fever he has had ever since he was shot. 
Of course it is a great disappointment to find that the President's progress to 
recovery is not as continuous as was promised by his improvement last week, 
but we ouglit surely to have learned by this time that pull-backs of this sort 
are to be looked for periodically and should not cause discouragement. 

Elberon, N". J., September 13, 8:30 A. M. — At the examination of the Presi- 
dent at 8 A. M., to-day the temperature was 99.4 ; the pulse, 100 ; respiration, 20. 
11 



154 

He passed a comfortable night, sleeping most of the time, and on the whole his con- 
dition this morning is encouraging and gives promise of a good day.— [Signed by 
Drs. Bliss and Hamilton,] 

Although the morning bulletin did not make a good showing on its face, still 
the President is doing well. At 10 o'clock the doctors decided to give the patient 
a change. A day or two ago an invalid or reclining chair was received from 
Washington. The President was lifted from his bed to this chair this morning, 
and remained in it an hour. During the morning his pulse fluctuated wildly, but 
it soon settled down to the figures of the morning bulletin. The position occupied 
by the President while in the chair was a recumbent one. He said : " This is de- 
lightful ; it is such a change." Hereafter each day he will spend an hour or so in 
the chair. An examination will be made to-night to ascertain if the change of 
position has changed the position of the ball. 

At 11 o'clock A. M. the President sent for the surgeons, and Drs. Hamilton, 
Bliss and Boynton hurried over, creating some alarm by their rapid movements. 
The surgeons were in the cottage but about fifteen minutes later, when they 
emerged. Dr. Hamilton said to the agent of the Associated Press that the Presi- 
dent being very desirous to be moved from his bed into his invalid chair, and 
feeling strong enough to stand the change, had sent for the doctors to have it made. 
They deemed it safe and lifted him into the chair, where he now sits in a reclining 
position, enjoying the change very much. 

12 A. M. — The fact that the President's respiration is again at 20 gives the doc- 
tors no little concern, despite the assertion that the trouble with the lung will 
yield to treatment. Dr. Bliss will not say what the treatment is. It is explained 
by Dr. Boynton in this wise : He says the President's throat is filled with phlegm, 
which gives him some trouble to get his breath, and thus increases the rapidity of 
breathing. He does not say the President has an abscess on his lungs, but he is 
afraid one is liable to develop. 

The feeling about Elberon to-day is more cheery than yesterday. General 
Swaim, who staid in the sick-room all last night, said the patient had a good 
night. Dr. Hamilton, at noon, told a brace of newspaper men that the President 
was progressing slowly, still he was progressing. Attorney-General MacVeagh 
will hereafter send the Lowell telegram. Secretary Blaine left a request for either 
Drs. Agnew or Hamilton to take care of it. This was construed by some to be a 
reflection on Dr. Bliss. For this reason Hamilton and Agnew turned the matter 
over to the Attorney-General. He is not out of the woods yet. I do not think 
there is any immediate danger from the lungs, but it will take some days yet to 
get at at the extent of the lung trouble. I am inclined to think, in view of the 
dangers that the President has overcome, that he will get well. Still he is liable 
to have a set back." 

Elberon, N. J., Seftemher 14, 9 A. M.— [Official Bulletin.]— At the examina- 
tioD of the President at 8:30 A. M. this morning the temperature was 98.4, 
the pulse, 100; the respiration, 19. He passed the night comfortably, sleeping 
suil ciently. He is bright and cheerful this morning and has taken fruits and 
hi3 first meal for the day with relish.— [Signed by Drs. Bliss and Hamilton.] 

Dr. Bliss says the President passed a good night, and awoke refreshed this 
morning. The febrile rise came on about 1 A. M., and commenced passing off 
before 6. At the time of the morning dressing the temperature was normal 
and respiration 19. The President commences the day as favorably as yester- 
day, and has not a single disturbing symptom. For breakfast, among other 
things, he ate nearly a w^hole peach and appeared to relish it. The weather 
continues very desirable and is invigorating. It is perfectly clear excepting 
over the ocean, where a beautifully tinted haze prevails, rendering the scene 
pleasant and refreshing. 

Elberon, N. J., September 15, 9 A. M.— Official Bulletin.— At the morning 
dressing at 8:30 to-day, the President's temperature was 98.4; pulse, 100; 
respiration, 20. He passed the night comfortably, sleeping until 3 A. M., 
when he was wakeful for a period of two hours, during which time the pulse 
rose to 120, but without the marked elevation of temperature, which has 
characterized the febrile disturbance heretofore. After this time he slept un- 
til morning. More nourishment was given during the night than for several 
nights past. In reviewing the case of the President, since his arrival at Long 
Branch, it may be said that in spite of the various septic accidents which have 



155 

for several weeks, and do still complicate his case, he Iws certainl}^ not retro- 
graded, but on the contrary has made some progress toward convalescence. — 
[Signed by Drs. Bliss, Hamilton, and Agnew.] 

10:30 A. M. — When first taken this morning, before dressing occurred, the 
President's pulse was 106. A short time afterward it fell to 104, and at the 
morning dressing it indicated 100 beats per minute. At this hour it has de- 
creased to 98. 

The official bulletin issued this morning for the first time admits that there 
have been sej)tic accidents which have overtaken tlie President since his arri- 
val here. There is no doubt but that the lung complications is one of great 
solicitude to the doctors. They hope, however, that it will yield to treatment 
and that an abscess can be prevented. It is next to impossible to get at the 
true condition of the treatment from the doctors. Even Attorney -General 
MacVeagh, who is the only Cabinet officer here, complains that he cannot get 
the exact facts from the surgeons. 

Elberox, N. J., Sepfemher 16, 9 A. M.— [Official Bulletin.]— At the exami- 
nation of the President at 8:30 this morning the temperature Avas 98:6; pulse, 
104; respiration, 21. The febrile rise during the night was not as pronounced 
as it usually has been. There was at times considerable acceleration of pulse. 
He, however, slept comparatively well, and took stimulants and nourishment 
as directed. The cough was somewhat more troublesome during the first part 
of the night and the expectoration rather more purulent. The discharge 
from the wound is less abundant and not quite as healthy in appearance. The 
pulse, however, has more volume, and his general condition does not seem to 
have materially changed in any respect.— [Signed by Drs. Bliss and Hamilton.] 

The President passed a fairly good night. During the early part, however, 
he was considerably troubled with coughing, more so than on the previous 
night. His general condition, while not materially changed, is not so favora- 
ble this morning. In fact he has made no gain, and there has been a gradual, 
but not marked, falling off. 

The situation this morning is less favorable, and grave anxiety exists as to 
whether the President will be able to overcome the result of his extreme de- 
bility. Bedsores have again made their appearance, and the discharge from 
the wound is very unsatisfactory. 

Small bedsores have again made their appearance. Tliese, Dr. Boynton says, 
are caused from constant lying in the bed, and. are attributable principally to 
the extreme debility of the patient. Tliese sores have appeared heretofore, 
but recently they healed, and for some days have not been a disturbing or an- 
noying feature in the case. The circulation of the patient, Dr. Boynton says, 
is good, and the pulse is not of a more depressed or unfavorable character than 
it lias been. The anxiety which now prevails is whether or not the President 
will be able to withstand the burden which he is now carrying. 

From now on the official bulletins will approximately state the true condi- 
tion of the patient's case. This was brought about by Drs. Agnew and Ham- 
ilton outvoting Bliss. The latter objected because tlie President insists upon 
seeing every bulletin issued, and up to yesterday morning the bulletins all 
along, it is now conceded, have to a lesser or greater extent been rose-colored. 
There is no denying the fact that the doctors now reluctantly admit that the 
President has made no substantial progress since he was removed from Wash- 
ington. He again longs for another change of scene, and at times expresses 
dissatisfaction with his quarters. It is admitted by Drs. Agnew and Boynton 
that he has chronic pyrem'a, and that it may take many weeks to eliminate it 
from his system. 

On the whole, the case may be summed up with the assertion that the pres- 
ent is a moment of extreme anxiety and devoid of sufficient ground for assum- 
ing that the patient will overcome the excessive debility, which has established 
itself. _ All are hopef nl, however, especially Dr. Boynton, who asserts his opin- 
ion, without hesitation, that the probabilities are that there is sufficient vital- 
ity left to override the present unfavorable symptoms; but on the other hand 
he is unwilling to grant that there is anything to warrant a sanguine opinion 
to that effect. 

At the noon reading of the President's condition his pulse was 114; temper- 
ature, 99.6; respiration, 21. At this hour his pulse is 108, temperature not 



156 

touch above normal. The patient has not been placed in his chair to-day on 
account of the febrile rise which occurred. 

The President is nearing another crisis. The septic condition of his system 
is manifesting itself in various threatening symptoms. The bedsores, for in- 
stance, which were present in Washington and which healed, apparently, after 
his removal here, have again made their appearance",this morning. His pulse 
fluctuates wildly, and liis mind is less clear. Upon the whole the outlook is 
not encouraging, and the next forty-eight hours may bring very sad news. 
Dr. I^oynton said this morning that he now feared the President had not suffi- 
cient vitality left to surmount the present difficulties even if no new compli- 
cations made their appearance. 

Elberon, N. J., September 17, 9 A. M. — [Official Bulletin.] — At the morning 
examination and tlrcssing of the President the temperature was 99.8, pulse, 108; 
respiration, 21. The fluctuations of the pulse during the night varied from 116 
to 130, the temperature during this time not deviating much from the normal. 
He slept quite well, taking nourishment at proper intervals. His cough was not 
troublesome, and the expectoration moderate. The discharge from the wound is 
more healthy and the color of the granulation slightly improved. — [Signed by Drs. 
Bliss and Agnew.] From three o'clock yesterday until a very early hour this 
morning the condition of the President was such as to create the greatest alarm 
and distrust, not onlj'^ among those anxiously waiting and watching, but among 
physicians as well. All of the complications which have beset the case were 
aggravated, the lung trouble had increased the wound, the wound was behaving 
badly, and there were unmistakable evidences that the President was not only 
losing his courage but his mind as well. When the night closed Dr. Bliss admitted 
that the unfavorable symptoms were due to an increase of blood-poisoning. Three 
days ago he said he thought the blood-poisoning was being eliminated, but the record 
of the day was one which convinced him it was on the increase. The President 
frequently complains of being tired and wornout. At times he is flighty. His 
mind wanders, and more than once he expressed dissatisfaction with his quarters 
here and asked when he is going to be removed to Mentor. Up to midnight last 
night the patient's general condition did not improve. At 11 o'clock his pulse 
was up to 1:30, and his temperature over 100. Toward 2 o'clock there was but 
slight decrease in these figures. 

About 3 o'clock he fell asleep and slept until 6. When he woke his pulse had re- 
ceded to 106 and his temperature had gone down to 98. When the surgeons (and all 
of them were in attendance) met to make the morning examination of the wound, 
the general symptoms of the patient showed some improvement. First, the wound 
looked better and its discharge was now of a more healthy character. The pulse, 
though frequent, was a better pulse than yesterday, because it was what doctors 
term stronger and less wiry. 

"I feel better" said the President. The day opened at Elberon with fear still 
uppermost. While there was a change for the better it was so slii^ht that it was 
not calculated to restore confidence. Dr. Boynton said, "I cannot see that the 
President is any better," while Dr. Hamilton told Attorney-General MacVeagh 
that "the President is still a dangerously sick man," Dr. Agnew said he would 
form no opinion until later in the day. 

10:50 A. M. — Dr. Bliss does not think that there has been any marked change 
for the better in the President's case. The wound looks more favorable this 
morning, the pus being of a more healthy character. The suppuration from the 
parotid is a trifle less than it has been and looks more healthy. The lung trouble 
has not increased in area, and is considered to be in a better condition. The 
cough is less annoying, and the expectoration not so exhaustive. A better day 
than yesterday is expected. Pulse now 106. 

11:15 A. M. — Dr. Bliss says the President's pulse is now 102. His general con- 
dition is unchanged. Assistant Secretary of State Ilitt arrived last evening. 

The President had a rigor between 11 and 12 o'clock this morning, lasting about 
half an iiour. The pulse ran up to 137, and at this hour (12:15 P. M.) the pulse is 
about 120. 

IP. M. — The President had a rigor about 11 o'clock this morning. It lasted 
about 20 minutes, during which time the pulse ran up to 137. After the rigor 
passed off" the President vomited considerably. His pulse at this hour has de- 
creased to 120, temperature being 101, and respiration 24. The situation is decid- 



157 



I^^ifowKni;;1Tb:ft^.af ''■' '? f'"'- P^-^^^^^^i^y that more chills will occur. 
l\Jr. nanspiies tUat there were indications of a r o-or vesterdav Thp Prp«ifTonf 

o A ' xl*~ President had a ri^or at 7:30. "^ 

J A. M.-The President has just had another severe chill. 

tinn^s'u^J'frvmS^ ^s;Sl"-^-;:'^^\««'?^'tion of the President this morning con- 
as So- l/nirnn?p, .n '''1^1'''.^ ^^^'^^^ 'ff "^ «^ the evening bulletin he had I chill 

on on account o^f wlVh fA/.y^ ^'^^^^ respiration, 22. At 8:30 another chill cime 

he issuS"S5??'5^^g,|-^\^S SS^g^;^-^- ^ ^""-^" -"^ 

6e?ei-e tn^'~^,%'T-''^ ''V-^'' morning lasted nearly 20 minutes and wss quite a 
is IX awake nr[faT;ri;Lf /'^'''^ "' !"""'"? ^'^"^^ ^^'"^ '''"^^ »t subsid?d, but 
^le |^;c/S^h: '^;^ ^^S^^^:T.^^'^%,.. , Of the opinion 

caustr'SSL'?.SS^.^ ''' '''^'''' ^^^ ^^^-^^ isIxt^emX\ea\! StS {^ 

aiMcmikl" nof^SVit^v^l says the situation at this time is decidedly gloomy 
effects of treiWMn'f- ^'^ -I'l-esKleut has not rallied, as usual, from the 
tained,lc&ir ^^^itement prevails and the worse fears are enter- 

while"show?no-"in Sn'^"'® °^ the evening bulletin the President's condition, 
S7pvoP^STn5.f ?i^''''^'''^^^'.^'''i "o* ^"ch as to cause renewed alarm. With 
atme fS f"n/n "hew r^^^^^ ^'^^^^'^ .^^'^ ^^^^^^^^^^^ ^o keep the teniper- 

an ext^wdin ;rv^.i.?°'\ T''^,'^' '?''8"^' *^^e '^^'^ l^'^^sed without an event of 
nut mVAhf I ^ character^ In about an hour after the evening bulletin was 

broken IS?? i W ^^ ^""^"'"f i' T''^^r' «*" ^^'^ P'^^^^^^^ noted there was 
with tL .^i Vf, ",goi/'Ccurred, lasting about ten minutes. In comparinff it 

n%n ; -^ r '^'^ctors m the case are despondent. 
fortvlei^V h,^S'"" ^^^^«''^ys if the chills continue the President cannot live 
a?,vL1 f "^^' ^^'- ^^S"ew told Editor Pulitzer, of St. Louis that he re- 

IS& e to'Sv'he^ni'n 'V/''^^'"^- W^^^^ ''' '"'"^ ''<"' think the President 
coXiled If in n>i°."vf I''* ^""^ ^'°''^ ^^'""'^ *'''o ^^^y« u"l«ss the chills can be 

19 0- P \r M "^^^ock the pulse was up to 143. 

that tiie Pieside.^'t" S^^^^""^ ^""^^^ M'hile he does not anticipate immediate death 
moment amf ^n ',1 f • ° .i" ''4.f • ^P^^V^'^^^ *^''^* embolism may come on at any 
S arterfes Thp^. ^^1°^- ^ "' '^^H 1^"^^'"'^ "P ^^^ t'^^ blood in the veins 
mtipit o fL. T- '1^"'^^ nourishment of beef blood by enemata wss given the 
fniu?oT '^ fw minutes ago. The President, those who were near him sav is 

we RlefinedV^^^^^^ 'f '^' ""'' ''''' T'"^^' ^h^ sweet'bSh oiTe^f^the 

19 1 n TJ vr^ n-? ^^ pyfemia, was discovered, 

nf thi ii ••„ -"V*^ President is resting somewhat easier now. The recurrence 
pUcLsli wfil^r^^^ *°-^^"^*- ^f- Agnew thinks that before the en I Sp? 
before dithiff''."'*^ a comatose state, in which he will remain many houts 
betoie death. Attorney-General MacVeagh has taken, under the law. posses- 



158 

sion of the telegraph wire at Elberon. The Cabinet are all here except Secre- 
taries Blaine and Lincoln. The others are now at Elberon, thoroughly dis- 
couraged and disheartened. 

12 •''0 P M —The manner in which the President rallied from the morning chill 
astonished tlie doctors. After the wound had been dressed he asked for a hand 
(^lass, and after looking himself over, said : " i can't understand why I should be 
so weak when I feel so well and look so well." 

12-30 P. M.— The President is now sleeping. His pulse is 118, temperature 
normal, respiration 20. Dr. Bliss, who has just come to the West End from Elbe- 
ron, savs the case is next to hopeless. Dr. Agnew told John Russeh Young the 
case was as bad as it could be, and he saw no encouragement whatever. Dr. 
Ao-new was asked ten minutes ago if he expected that the present comphcations 
of" the case would carry the President off to-day. He said: "Oh, no; oh no. 
He may last three days. He may last ten. Again the paroxysm of some of the 
ch/11^ may be too much for him." The weight of opinion here is that the Presi- 
de nt^wiU not survive over Wednesday, if he lives until then. His rigors, they say, 
proceed from his debilitated system. Dr. Agnew says that when they opened the 
abscess in the parotid gland he felt that the beginning of the end had come. He 
is reticent, but it can be noticed by his manner that he has no hope. Ihe sur- 
roundings at Elberon are dismal enough ; sorrow sits in every face and people talk 
low and walk slowly as in the presence of death. E-ich word from the sick room 
is eagerly caught up, and the gloom deepens as time progresses. 

2PM —The President is sleeping, and is in partial stupor. He grows weaker, 
but may rally to-morrow, unless he has a chill to-night. There is no hope for 
recovery felt, but the doctors say it is simply a question of time. 

Dr Bliss this morning dictated the following as the diagnosis of the President's 
case • " After he was wounded the limited area of traumatic trouble in the lower 
portion of the lobe of the right lung was found due to hypoestatic congestion. This 
was caused by proximity to the inflamed diaphragm perforated by the bullet, the 
inflammation being aggravated by nearness to the fractured rib. This congestion 
increased in intensity, though not in area, owing to the long contuiued recumbent 
position of the patient. There was no difliculty in breathing and no cough at that 
time, nor until the parotid troubles. When the latter became aggravated the pus 
from the gland found its way into the mouth and the coughing efforts to throw it 
off being difticult and continuous, induced an inflammation of the mucous mem- 
brane of the mouth. The pus continuing to cause this cough, the inflammation 
extended to the throat, then to the larynx, and thence to the bronchial tubes 
downward. This inflammation naturally extended to the right, because the patient 
nearly m11 the time lay on one side, and when it reached the nighborhood of the 
afflicted lung it became naturally aggravated. During all this tune the septic 
condition of the blood was doing its work, and when the lung and bronchial attec- 
tions at last met they found a deranged and enfeebled system at a very low grade. 
Still the blood lesions were all repairing at this time. The conjunction of the two 
inflammations came at the best opportunity for the dissemination of the combined 
activities of each, and there was a spreading of the united troubles, iiie healing 
of the lesions was stopped at about this time, and the repairing process was 
arrested. We do not know yet if the result has been a depo-it of pus in the lungs. 
If any pus is now in the right lung, it is not indicated, and the deposit must have 
occurred within the past three or four days. The amount would be extremely 
small. If there was not innutrition the patient would be able to resist the oper- 
ation of all these causes even yet. But there is innutrition. The healing process 
is stopped. The blood cannot furnish the constituents of repair, and there is 
nothing to build on nor even to support what vitality is still left, and that is being 
continually drawn upon and diminished. tt ^ i * .„ 

11-20 P. M —Attorney-General MacVeagh just came to the Elberon Hotel from 
the Francklvn cottage, and made the following statement : " I sent my dispatch 
to Minister Lowell at 10 P. M. Shortly before that Dr. Bliss hal seen the 1 resi- 
dent and found his pulse at lOG beats per minute, and all the conditions were then 
promising a quiet night. The doctor asked the President if he was feeling uncom- 
fortable fn any way? The President answered, 'Xot at all,' and shortly afterward 
fell asleep, and Dr. Bliss returned to his room across the hall from that occupied 
bv the President. Cols. Swaim and Rockwell remained with the President. About 
10-15 the President awakened and remarked to Col. Swaim that he was suttermg 



159 

great pain, and placed his hand over his heart. Dr. Bliss was summoned, and 
when he entered the room he found thePresident substantially without pulse, and 
the action of the heart was almost indistinguishable. He said at once that the 
President was dying, and directed that Mrs. Garfield be called ; also the doctors. 
The President remained in a dying condition until 10:35, when he was pronounced 
dead. He died of some trouble of the heart, supposed to be neuralgia." 



CHAPTER IV. 

HIS DEATH. 

The last of the famau? " bulletins " was issued at 1:15 o'clock this morning, 
and made the mournful announcement that the end had come, in the following 
words : 

11:30 P. M.— The President died at 10:35. After the bulletin was issued at 5:30 
this evening the President continued in much the same condition as during the 
afternoon, the pulse varying from 102 to 106, with rather increased force and 
volume. After taking nourishment he fell into a quiet sleep about thirty-five minutes 
before his death, and while asleep his pulse rose to 120, and was somewhat more 
feeble. At 10:10 o'clock he awoke, complaining of severe pain over the region of 
the heart, and almost immediately became unconscious, and ceased to breathe at 
10:35. — D. W. Bliss, Frank H. Hamilton, D. Hayes Agnew. 

Well may it be said in the words of the immortal Tennyson : — 

" Divinely gifted man. 
Whose life in low estate began. 
And on a simple village green ; 

Who breaks his birth's invidious bar, 
And grasps the skirts of happy chance. 
And breasts the blows of circumstance, 

And grapples with his evil star ; 

Who makes, by force, his merit known, 

And lives to clutch the golden key 

To mould a mighty State's decrees, 
And shape the whisper of the throne ; 

And moving up, from high to higher. 
Becomes, on fortune's crowning slope, 
The pillar of a people's hope. 

The center of a world's desire." 

But now by fate's direst arrow, 

The grand spectacle of a nation's sorrow. 

Elberon, X. J., September 20.— The following official bulletin was prepared at 
eleven o'clock to night by the surgeons who have been in attendance upon the 
late President : " By previous arrangement a post-mortem examination of the 
body of President Garfield was made this evening in the presence and with the 
assistance of Drs. Hamilton, Agnew, Bliss, Barnes, Woodward, Reyburn, Andrew 
Smith, of Elberon, and acting Assistant Surgeon D. S. Lamb, of the Army Medi- 
cal Museum, Washington. The operation was performed by D. S. Lamb. It was 
found that the ball, after fracturing the right eleventh rib, had passed through 
the spinal column, in front of the spinal canal, fracturing the body of the first 
lumbar vertebra, driving a number of the small fragments of bone into the adja- 
cent soft parts, and lodging below the pancreas, about two and one-half inches to 
left of the spine, behind the peritoneum, where it had become completely encysted. 
The immediate cause of death was secondary hemorrhage from one of the mesen- 
teric arteries adjoining the track of the baU, the blood rupturing the peritoneum, 
and nearly a pint escaping into the abdominal cavity. This hemorrhage is believed 
to have been the cause of the severe pain In the lower portion of the chest, com- 



IGO 

plained of just before death. An abscess cavity, six inches by four inches in di- 
mensions, was found in the vicinity of the gall bladder, between the liver and the 
transverse colon, which was strongly adherent. It did not involve the substance 
of the liver, and no communication was formed between it and the wound. A 
long suppurating channel extended from the external wound between the loia 
muscles and the right kidney almost to the right groin. 

This channel, now known to be due to the burrowing of pus from the wound^ 
was supposed during life to have been the track of the ball. On an examination 
of the organ of the chest evidences of severe bronchitis were found on both sides 
of the broncho-pneumonia of the lower portion of the right lung and, though to a 
much less extent, of the left. 

The lungs contained no abscesses and the heart no clots. The liver wag 
enlarged and fatty, but free of abscesses. Nor were any found in any other organ 
except the left kidney, which contai:::ed near its surface a small abscess about one- 
third of an inch in diameter. In reviewing the history of the ease in connection 
with the autopsy it is quite evident that the different suppurating surfaces, and 
especially the fractured spongy tissue of the vertebra, furnish a sufficient explana- 
tion of the septic condition which existed.— D. W- Bliss, J. K. Barnes, J. J. vVood- 
ward, Eobert Reyburn, Frank H. Hamilton, D. Hayes Agnew, Andrew H. Smith, 
D. S. Lamb. 

Long Branch, N. J., September 20. — The following arrangements for the 
funeral services have been ordered by tlie Cabinet, and are given to the press for 
the information of the public : The remains of the late President of the United 
States will be removed to Washington by a special train on Wednesday, September 
21, leaving Elberon at 10 A. M. and reaching Washington at 4 P. M. Detach- 
ments of the United States army and from the marines of the navy will be in 
attendance on arrival at Washington to perform escort duty. The remains will 
lie in state in the rotunda of the Capitol on Thursday and Friday, and will be 
guarded by a deputation from the Executive Departments and by oHicers of the 
Senate and House of Representatives. Religious ceremonies will be observed in 
the rotunda at 3 o'clock on Friday afternoon. At 5 P. M. the remains will be 
transferred to a funeral car and be removed to Cleveland, Ohio, via the Pennsyl- 
vania railroad, arriving there Saturday at 2 P. M. In Cleveland the remains 
will lie in state until Monday at 2 P. M., and be then interred in Lake View Cem- 
etery. No ceremonies are expected in the cities and towns along the route of the 
funeral train beyond the tolling of the bells. Detailed arrangements for the final 
sepulchre are committed to the municipal authorities of Cleveland, under the 
direction of the executive of the State of Ohio. James G. Blaine. 

Wherever the eyes turn at the capital here the sable symbols of the nation's 
mourning can be seen. The palaces of the wealthy and the humble cots of the 
poor alike show forth the grief of the inmates over the death of the nation's 
chief. Even in the alleys of our citj% wliere penury and painful poverty abound, 
almost every tenement exhibits some meager show of mourning, which the inhab- 
itants, out of their abject poverty, have utilized to show that they, too, claim the 
right to mingle their tears with those of their more prosperous neighbors in this 
hour of universal grief. In a word, all classes of our people show by their con- 
duct that they fully appreciate the national calamity which has made them all akin 
in their demonstrations of mourning. Time can never eftace the memory of this 
sorrow. There will come no year in all our national future when President Gar- 
field will be forgotten, when the story of his noble life will not furnish an incen- 
tive to pure and lofty ambition, wlien the sad tragedy that shrouded his sun, at 
meridian, in perpetual eclipse, will no more be remembered. 



161 



CHAPTER V 



REMOVAL TO WASHINGTON.— LYING IN STATE IN THE ROTUNDA 

OF THE CAPITOL. 

September 21.— Shortly after 8 o'clock the cottage was opened to the people, 
who formed in line and began to pass through. The casket lies in the parlor, in 
the middle, between two doors, alForoing easy means of ingress and egress. As 
to the poor remains within it, the face and form are not like those of the Garfield 
whom we knew. They are literally remains— all that remains of the splendid 
physique of the man who became our President on the 4th of March last. 

While people were passing through the cottage parlor, the funeral train was 
being backed to the rear entrance. The hindmost car was for the baggage, which 
was rapidly carried in. It contained also a large ice-box. The next car was the 
one which bore the President hither two weeks ago. It is richly carpeted and 
tastefully draped in mourning, the black being relieved by narrow gathered folds 
of our national colors. In the center, where the bed was two weeks ago, is a sym- 
metrical and appropriate catafalque, on which the casket is to be placed. At 
either end of the car are twelve new willow arm-chairs— twenty- four in al). The 
next car was hke any first-class traveling car of sr-perior finish. Between this and 
the engine was a palace car especially for the use of Mrs. Garfield and her family. 
The make-up of the train may be changed when the main track is reached. Mean- 
while the bell of the little chapel near by has been tolling, and people have been 
passing through in a steady stream. 

Yet every moment the constantly accnmulating crowd is forming m line 
and w^ien the time expires for viewing the remains the procession is longer 
than ever, and very many are disappointed. Perhaps it is as well. What they 
would have seen would not have added to their happiness. 

At half-past nine o'clock Chief-Justice Waite, Secretary" and Mrs. Blaine, 
Secretary and Mrs Windom, Secretary and Mrs. Hunt, Postmaster-General 
and Mrs. James, and Secretaries Lincoln and Kirkwood, and Attorney-Gen- 
eral MacVeagh arrived at the Francklvn cottage, and the doors were closed to 
visitors. The religious services were conducted by request of Mrs. Garfield 
by the Rev. Charles J. Young, of Long Branch. There were present besides 
the family and attendants the members of the Cabinet and their wives and a 
few personal friends, numbering in all not more than fifty individuals. When 
the moment for the solemnities was announced the windows and doors were 
closed and all sounds were hushed. Owing to the necessity of starting of the 
train promptly on time Colonel Rockwell had requested the officiating clergy- 
man to occupy but five minutes. The service was as follows : 

The minister read from the Scriptures appropriate passaijes relating to death 
and the resurrection, such as are found in the burial service of the Episcopal 
Church. He then offered the following prayer : 

" O Thou who didst open the grave of the brother in Bethany ; who hadst 
compassion on the widow of Nain, as she bore her beloved dead ; who art the 
same yesterday, to-day, and forever, and in whom is no variableness nor 
shadow^ of turning, have mercy upon us at this hour when our souls have no 
where else to fly ; but we fly to Thee ; Thou knowest these sorrows that we 
bow under. O Thou God of the widow, help this stricken heart before Thee ; 
help these children and those that are not here ; be their father ; help her m 
the distant State, who watched over him in childhood ; help this nation that 
is to-day bleeding and bowed in sorrow before Thee. O sanctify this heavy 
chastisement to its good. Help those associated with him in the Government. 
O Lord, gr.mt from the darkness of this nigiit of sorrow there may arise a 
better day for the glory of God and the good of man. We thank Thee for the 
record of the life that is closed and for its heroic devotion to principle. We 
thank Thee, O Thou Lord, that he was Thy servant ; that he preached Thee, 
Thy noble life and example, and that we can say of him now: Blessed are the 
dead who die in the Lord ; their works do follow them. Now, Lord, go with 
this sorrowing company in this last sad journey ; bear them up and strengthen 
them. O God, brins? us all at last to the morning that has no shadow -, the 
house that has no tears; the land that has no death; for Chrisfs sake. Amen. 



162 

Immediately after the conclusion of the services at the Francklyn cottage 
Mrs. Garfield, accompanied by her son Harry, Colonel Swaim, Colonel and 
Mrs. Rockwell, Miss Mollie Garfield and Miss Rockwell, and Dr. Boynton and 
E. O. Rockwell, came from'the Francklyn cottage and entered the first coach. 
The members of the Cabinet and their wives follow^ed, and took seats in the 
second coach. Mrs. Garfield was heavily veiled, and in passing to the 
train exhibited the same fortitude which has characterized her manner through- 

In addition to the immediate members of the family, the following composed 
the party on the train: Private Secretary J. Stanley Brown, Executive Clerk 
Warren S. Young, John R. Van Wormer. chief clerk Post-Office Department; 
John Jamison, railway mail service; Ridgeley Hunt, son of the Secretary of 
the Navy; C. F. James, son of the Postmaster-General; Mr. Jay Stone, private 
secretary to Secretary Lincoln; ex-Sheriff Dagget, of Brooklyn; Colonel H. C. 
Corbin, and Messrs. Atchison, Rickard, and the other attendants upon the 
late President and Mrs. Garfield during the sojourn here. Just before the train 
MVSiS ready to start the following State officials, accompanied by members of the 
legislature, arrived upon the scene: Governor George C. Ludlow, Major- Gen- 
eral G, Mott, Adjutant-General William S. Stryker, Quartermaster-General 
Lewis Perrihe, General Willoughby Weston, General Bird W. Spencer, Colonel 
S Perrine, Jr., Secretary of State Henry C. Kelsey, Assistant Secretary of State 
James D. Hall, Comptroller E. J. Anderson, Treasurer George M.Wright, and 
Private Secretary to the Governor James D. Naar. A few minutes before 10 
o'clock the casket was removed from the cottage by six strong men, and, pass- 
ing through a guard of soldiers formed in parallel lines, was placed in the third 
coach. The attendants and others who accompanied the party took seats m 
the fourth car. Dr. Reyburn is the only surgeon who went on the special train. 
At exactly 10 o'clock the funeral train started from the Francklyn cottage, 
moving from the grounds very slowly. The train reachel Elberon station 
about 10.08 A. M., and stopped up the road about a quarter of a mile from the 
station. To this p6int the special train which brought President Arthur and 
General Grant from New York was run, and guards were stationed in the 
vicinity to prevent any annoyance from the crowd, there being from five to 
six hundred persons in the immediate neighborhood. As soon as President 
Arthur's train was stopped alongside the train which bore the remains, the 
President and General Grant stepped across and entered the second car of the 
funeral train. General Grant took the second from the last seat on the right- 
hand side of the second car. President Arthur sat in the next seat in front of 
General Grant by himself, and the seat next in front of that in which President 
Arthur sat was occupied by Secretary Blaine. As the train moved off, Presi- 
dent Arthur had his hands on the back of Secretary Blaine's seat, and was 
leaning forward engaged in conversation witli the Secretary. 

About an hour after the funeral train left, the special train conveying Gov- 
ernor Ludlow and staff started for Trenton. Immediately after the family of 
the deceased I'resident left the Francklyn cottage at Elberon. 

When Philadelphi'i was reached a stop of a few minutes was made to take 
on board Senator John P. Jones. Here the trappings of woe shrouded the 
fronts of the buildings. The flags were at half-mast, and an immense throng 
of people had assembled to catch a sight of the train. Nor were these of any 
particular class, but included staid Quakers, gentlemen in broadcloth, and 
grimy workmen from the neighboring shops and manufactories They stood qui- 
etly, with uncovered lieads, not a word being uttered as the train rolled past. 
At Chester and Wilmington the same sympathy wa~ manifested. Between 
these two cities the ships lying at anchor in the Schuylkill and the steamers 
moving up and down the river all had their flags half-masted. 

Besxles Philadeli)hia. the train stopped at Bayview, Bristol, and Baltimore. 
At the latter place every ])oint in the vicinity of the station that would com- 
mard a view of the funeral train was crowded with a mass of human beings. 
When the train left Baltimore it was fully thirty minutes late, and between 
that city and Washington it moved along at a rapid rate. As it drew near the 
city away in the background the dome of the Capitol was faintly outlined 
against the sky, and soon the bridge was reached. Here loomed up the square, 
massive walls of the District jail. As those in the train caught sight of its 
walls, quick as a flash came tlie thought of the mad wretch confined in one of 



163 

its cells, whose dastardly act has phmged a continent into mourning. With 
reduced speed the train moved on through the tunnel and down the street to- 
ward its stopping point at the Baltimore and Potomac depot. As the cars 
rolled slowly under the shed your correspondent called to mind the morning of 
March 3, last, when a committee of citizens were awaiting the arrival ot the 
new Tresident. How well now can be recalled the bright smile and hearty 
handshake of General Garfield when he walked through the depot with his aged 
mother upon his arm. Then the cup of hope and ambition seemed full to 
overflowing, and, surrounded by those who held him dear, President Garfield 
came to assume the duties of his high office. Now he again comes to the cap- 
ital, but, alas ! how changed is the scene. Friends, tried and true, are tenderly 
returning his earthly remains to the capital, while on his coffin lies the palm- 
branch, the victor's prize, and the martyr's crown. 

The funeral train, bearing the remains of the late President and the funeral 
party, arrived at the Baltimore and Potomac depot at 4:30 o'clock yesterday after- 
noon. An immense crowd of people were assembled there to meet the tram, 
though there was no excitement, and when the casket was being removed from 
the car to the hearse, the silence was only broken by the music of the hynan, 
"Nearer, My God, to Thee," played |by the Marine Band. When the debarkation 
was made Mrs. Garfield was escorted to the carriage by Secretary Blaine and her 
son, Harry. , t> i ^^ 

After them slowly came General Swaim and Mrs. Swaira, Colonel Kockwell, 
Mrs. Rockwell, Miss Mollie Garfiald and Miss Lulu Rockwell. Colonel Corbm, Dr. 
Bliss and Miss Bliss, Dr. Boynton, Dr. Agnew, Dr. Hamilton, Secretary Kirk- 
wood, Postmaster-General and Mrs. James, Attorney-General and Mrs. MacVeagh 
and the two MacVeagh boys. Secretary and Mrs. Hunt, Captain Henry, Secretary 
and Mrs. Lincoln, and their young son, Abe Lincoln. 

Tlien came President Arthur, General Grant, S;inator Jones and General l^eale. 
When the party had passed thruugli the depot the carriages were filled in the fol- 
lowing order : First, Mrs. Garfield, accompanied by her son, Harry. Mrs. Rockwell 
and Miss Mollie Garfield and Miss Lulu Rockwell. Second carriage, Mrs. Mac- 
Veagh and Mrs. Secretary Lii:coin; next, Mrs. Blaine and Mrs. Fred Grant; next. 
General Grant. Senator Jones, of Nevada, and General Beale . The next carnage 
contained President Arthur, Secretary Blaine, Chief Justice Waite and Secretary 
Windom, fallowed by carriages containing parties in the following order : Secre- 
taries Hunt, Lincoln and Kirkwood, and Postmaster-General James; Attorney- 
General MacVeagh and Private Secretary Brown; Dr. Boynton, Marshal Henry 
and Warren Young, General Swaim, Colonel Corbin and Colonel Rockwell. 1 hen 
followed the hearse drawn by six grey horses. The carriage containing Mrs. Gar- 
field and daughter was driven down Pennsylvania avenue to Four-and-a-half street 
and from there it turned up and was driven to the residence of Attorney-General 
MacVeagh. t^- i. • ^ 

The funeral escort from the depot to [the Cvpifcol was formed of the District 
militia : Wasiiington Light Infantry, Colonel W. G. Moore; Union Veteran Corps, 
Captain S. E. Thoraason: National Rlfies, Captain J. O. P. Barnside; Washing- 
ton Light Guards, Lieutenant F. S. Hodgson; Capital City Guards, Captain i. S. 
Kelley; detachment United States marines; battalion of United States artillery; 
four foot and one light battery from the barracks (Arsenal;) Washington, Columbia 
and other commanderles Koights Templars. 

How many minds involuntarily contrasted the picture presented at the Capitol 
yesterday with that at the same place on the 4th of last M u-cii. One was life, the 
other death, portrayed by the hand of the Great Master himself, and, therefore, 
solemn, striking. Impressive. In the splendor of physical manhood and vigor on 
inauscuration day General Garfield drove to the Capitol to formally enter upon the 
work of the great trust reposed in him. At every step of progress towards the 
Capitol he was greeted with the glad acclaims of the populace. From every State 
and Territory of the Union people had gathered at the national capital to testify 
their esteem for and confi lence in their chosen ruler. He was the nation s pride 
and the hopes of fifty millions of freemen centered in him. He was moved and his 
heart swelled within him as he observed the deep abiding hold he had upon the 
popular regard. All was animation, joy and hope. Yesterday the mortai remains 
of the popular President moved slowly down Pennsylvania avenue. The crowd 
was there, but sorrow filled every heart. Instead of the lively music of the 4th ol 
March, the solemn strains of a funeral dirge added to the solemnity of tbe scene. 



164 

All heads were bowed, and no sound, save the solemn music, broke the nir. Under 
that same roof, which had so often ninj^ with the eloquent words of the living 
statesmen, the dead heio was borne, and within a few feet of the spot where he 
took the oath of office, the coffla was rested. It was a ciiange of scene calculated 
to impress the most thoughtless with tiie certainty of death, and in its presence 
how trivial is all earthly tilory. 

At 5:20 the head of the procession reached the east front of the Capitol. 
There was a throng of thousands of people on the plateau to the east. The 
porticos of the Senate and House wings were black with people. The hearse 
stopped. The officers of the House and of the Senate and members of the 
Supreme Court were there to receive the body. They were: The Sergeant-at- 
Armsof the Senate Bright; John G. Thompson, Sergeant-at-Arms of the 
House; Eepresentatives Tucker, Virginia; Wilson, West Virginia; Urner, 
Maryland; Townsend, Ohio; Dezeudorf, Virginia; Thomas, Illinois; Shelley, 
Alabama; Senators Ingalls, Morgan, Pugh, Garland. Kellogg, and Davis, 
(West Virginia.) Justice Harlan, and Justice Matthews, ex-Justice Strong, 
General Field, Doorkeeper of the House, and Colonel Adams, Clerk of the 
Houee. The military marched past the east front, and were formed in line, 
with faces to the Capitol. The Marine band broke out in harmony, "Nearer, 
My God, to Thee, "and continued that dirge until the casket was inside the 




retary Lincoln, Attorney-General MacVeagh, Postmaster-General James, 
Secretary Kirkwood, General Swaim, Colonel Eockwell, Private Secretary 
Brown, Colonel Corbin, J. O. Rockwell, W. S. Young, District-Attorney Cork- 
hill; A. A. Adee, Marshal Henry, W. S. Roose, Commissioners Morgan and 
Dent, and Major Twining. The party which came down from the rotunda to 
receive the remains followed after. Facing the coffin on either side were pla- 
toons of Columbia Cominandery, Knights Templar, who formed the guard of 
honor. The procession passed into the rotunda and the casket was placed upon 
the catafalque. The ceremony over, the soldiers withdrew. 

The glass at the head of the coffin was then uncovered and the escort took a 
look at all that was mortal of the late President. Nobody could ever forget 
that face. It had become blackish. The beard was thin and gray. It could 
barely be seen where on the right of the face it had been cut away, so carefully 
was the body arranged. The eyes were sunken and hollow. Dark circles un- 
der them extended down to the cheek bones. The nose was the only feature 
that was recognizable. The dark skin is drawn so tightly over the'bones of 
the face that it would seem as if it would be cut by the pressure. The lips are 
slightly parted and show the tightly clinched teeth beneath. The people who 
see the face will remember it forever. Those who had composed the funeral 
cortege left after looking into the coffin. 

President Arthur was the first to see the dead after the head of the coffin 
was uncovered to light. The crowd of people were then allowed to file in line 
of twos, marched into the east door of the rotunda, passed on each side of the 
bier and went out by the western door. All night long this march kept up. 
Sometimes it reached an hundred yards from the foot of the steps and some- 
times it ebbed to a straggling few. Seen under the gaslight of the rotunda the 
dead looked even worse than by dayliglit. The dome was illuminated and the 
globes around the walls were lighted. The light M'ay up in the dome crossed 
the light from the walls. The one was yellow, the other was nearly white. The 
result was a peculiar light resembling that which comes through the stained 
windows of chancels. All was silent. Men ajid women with heads uncovered 
passed slowly through, without conversation and without making any stir. 

The face of the dead President bears but little resemblance to those fine, 
open, manly features which everybody admired. I^Ionths of severe physical 
suffering reduced that muscular frame to the shadow of its former self. The 
remembrance that the popular heart will carry of (General Garfield, however, 
will be a picture of him as he was in health. His kindly nature and always 
friendly bearing, who can wonder at his great popularity? He was unselfish, 
generous, and ever considerate of others. The leader of hisparty in the House 
of Representatives for yeai-s, necessarily taking a prominent and active part in 
all discussions of political questions, he never indulged in language calculated 



165 

to wound the sensibilities of an opponent. If in the heat of discussion any 
word fell from his lips which could by any possibility be construed into a harsh 
meaning, he would never rest until the member who might feel aggrieved was 
found and satisfied that no unkind feeling had prompted his utterances. His 
great heart was full of the milk of human kindness, and half the labor of bis 
life Avas given up disinterestedly to the good of others. His remarkably suc- 
cessful career was a testimonial of his true worth. AVithout any special effort 
to advance himself, devoting his time and abilities singly to the duties of each 
position given to him, trusting entirely to the people, he was after less than a 
quarter of a century of participation in public affairs elevated to the highest 
place within the gift of the public. He knew absolutely nothing of the arts of 
the politician. He never schemed for promotion, but was entirely satisfied 
with the honors conferred upon him. No other man in the history of this 
Government ever had such honors freely, heartily conferred upon him. While 
a Kepresentative in Congress he was unanimously elected United States Sen- 
ator by his party in his native State, and with both these civic honors laid at his 
feet he was called to the Presidency of the republic; and when he assumed the 
responsibility of his high office the nation accepted his past devotion to duty 
and to country as an earnest of what he would do in the future. No man ever 
entered the Chief Magistracy under fairer, brighter auspices. He had the 
hearty support of all the people. There was everywhere a feeling of confidence 
in the wisdom and patriotism of his administration. In fact, the clamor of 
politics died away with the news of General Garfield's election, and those who 
had been arrayed against him in the political field loyally greeted him as the 
President of all the people. So great was the popular confidence in the integ- 
rity of his purposes and the wisdom of his plans of administration, that sec- 
tionalism, which had more or less disturbed the quiet of the nation for upwards 
of a third of a century, almost entirely disappeared and the old-time feeling of 
reverence for the Union took its place. 

Some of the people, after standing patiently in the sun for two or three hours, 
at last got into the rotunda, and, pausing but an instant beside the casket, after 
one glimpse passed out. It was observed by the guard who were stationed near 
the coffin, that nearly all the visitors left the coffin with an expression of horror 
upon their faces. One look was enough, and many said afterward that they 
wished they had not looked at all. Those most familiar with the features of the 
deceased said that they were not able to recognize the remains as that of the late 
President. There were no floral decorations upon the bier except a handsome 
wreath of rare white flowers. This was presented through Mr. Victor Drumraond, 
charge d'affaires of the English Legation, in accordance with the wishes of 
Queen Victoria, who sent the following cable dispatch: "•The Queen desires that 
a wreath be laid upon the coffin of President Garfield in her name." 

Beyond the bier to the west door there were beautiful flowers. They were upon 
the left of the line as it passed out. There was first a wreath of natural ivy, lying 
flat upon the stone floor. Beyond this was a broken column about three feet high, 
surmounted by a milk-white dove, whose head was bent toward the bier. Next 
to that, standing in t!ie flowers, was an allegorical picture of "The Gates Ajar." 
The posts of the gate were of |white roses and buds, surmounted by globes of 
immortelles. The posts were in beds of yellow and wliite flowers. The gate was 
a double one. The two wings of it were of fern, upon wire, with white flowers 
here and there. The bars were of fern. One of the gates was sligh.ly pulled 
open toward the line of people which passed by and admired them. Tliis triumph 
of the floral art was sent by the members of tlie Christian Church, of this city. 
Next to it was a beautiful crown, made of white flowers, principally of buds of 
roses, and having around its crests tlie same delicate fern of all the other floral 
offerings. The crown was surmounted by immortelles. Beyond it was a pillow 
of flowers, from whi^h sprung a column with dove alight on its top, with head 
looking up and ready for flight. The bed of white flowers which formed the pil- 
low below had wori^ed upon it in immortelles the words, "Our Martyr President." 
The row of flower beauty was finished as it commenced. A wreath of ivy lay 
there flat upon the lljor. 

Among the floral tributes placed around the dead President were a pillow of 
white tuberoses, from the Union Veteran Corps, which bore on its surface, wrought 
in purple immortelles, the words: "U. V. C. to Their Old Comrade," and an angel 
of white carnations, with wings of pampas grass, sounding a trumpet. This last 



166 

was contributed by James Wormley, Esq. They were the work of the florist, 
John Small, Esq. 

The flowers, with the exception of the gates, were sent from the White House. 
At 4 o'clock Mrs, Blaine, in company with Mrs. Windom, entered the rotunda 
and looked at the remains. Both lad es turned away very much shocked. The 
guards had noticed duiing the day that the face was changing. Black spots 
appeared, indicating that decay was beginning under the skin. The embalming 
had been done badly, and it was evident that the body was fast decaying. Mra. 
Blaine turned t<" one of the guards and said: 

" The coflin must be closed." 

The guard responded that it could not be done. 

"But," was the quick response, "I am Mrs. Blaine." 

" I can't help that. The coflin will not be closed unless by order of the Cab- 
inet." 

The ladies retired and the procession went on. At 6:25 Sergeant-at-Arms 
Bright received an order from Secretary Blaine to close the coffin at once. 

This was done. Those who had reached the foot of the coffin were in time 
only to see the lid closed. Then the wreath sent by C^ueen Victoria was placed 
over the head, and the crowds continued to file past to only look at a closed 
casket. There was, of course, great surprise and some indignation, which, 
however, was not loudly expressed. The members of the Army of the Cum- 
berland who were around the coflin said that the remains M-ere not fit to be 
seen, as the face had turned completely black. Many expressed the opinion 
that the coflin ought never to have been exposed open to the public. There 
was great disappointment, as many came from a long distance to see the re- 
mains. The opinion was expressed that the coffin should have been kept open 
nrder any circumstances. Before the coflin was closed the members of the 
Grand Army of the Kepublic, in full uniform, three hundred strong, passed by 
the remains, and each placed a white flower on the casket. The crowd stiU 
continued to press in, and continued with undiminished numbers until a late 
hour. It was estimated that about 150,000 people passed through the rotunda 
during the day and evening. 

Many thousands who had witnessed the inauguration of President Garfield, 
including most of the distinguislied personages wliose presence had graced the 
former occasion, assembled at the Capitol to pay a sad tribute of respect to his 
memory. The frail tenement in which dwelt the soul of James A. Garfield lay 
in its casket beneath the dome, but a few yards away from the spot on which 
he had stood when he swore to defend the Constitution in the office of Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

What a change from that Friday in March to this Friday in September I 
Smiles of gladness had given place to tears of grief, joyful shouts and loud 
hurrahs to the muffled drum and the dirge. Joy had vanished before the sad 
advance of sorrow. It seemed as if all the brightness and beauty of life had 
passed away, as if all that is dreary, gloomy, and grief -inspiring had come to 
malve its home in the Capitol. 

Over the form of him who had spoken so bravely to the heart and hopes of 
the nation on that other occasion, the prayer, the hymn, and the funeral ora- 
tion were uttered on the latter. 

And when the sad rites were done, the remains of the loved and honored Pres- 
ident were borne for the last time out of the edifice in which he had achieved so 
many triumphs and where he had, unconsciously, hewn his Avay to the Presidency. 
They were borne across the balcony where he stood on the 4! h of March, and were 
followed by many of the nation's niiost distinguished sons who had stood around 
him on that other day. 

These are sharp contrasts, forcibly illustrating the instability of all that men 
value highest, of all that men strive for in the paths of ambiiion. 

September Q—Se/ptemhir 21.— Sixteen days ago, in the gray of early morning, 
the President, sick and wounded nigh unto death, was removed from the White 
House to the special railway train that had been so admirably improvised for his 
conveyance to Long Branch. 

The transfer was quietly made, and, as no announcement of the hour had been 
published, it was witnessed by comparatively fev/. The least possible publicity 
was given to the event. But in view of its peculiar circumstances and assocla- 



167 

tions — the critical condition of the President and the hopelessness of his recovery 
in Washington — it was one of the most memorable, as it was certainly one of the 
most melancholy episodes in the whole sad story. 

Upon all who witnessed the scene it left an impression startling at the moment 
and ineffaceable as memory itself. 

The spectacle was severe in its s-implieity, yet heroic in its significance, and in- 
vested with an inexpressible pathos. 

The hushed stillness of the chamber of death had stolen out upon the broad 
avenue and into the light of day. The throng which had gathered at Sixth street 
to see the strange pageant was voiceless. The sounds of preparation rose only 
in low murmurs. Even the feet of the horses, and the wheels of the vehicle that 
bore the President, seemed muffled lest they might disturb his quietude. 

It was the last chance. 

Only a few weeks before the Chief Magistrate of the United States, in the full 
pride of his intellect and strength of his manhood, had gone over that selfsame 
ground to be halted by an assassin's bullet. He was now borne back again, like a 
dying soldier in ambulance, stretched in the similitude of death upon a mattressed 
wagon. 

Nature herself stood silent in sympathy and wonder at the awfulness of the 
contrast. 

The sun delayed his coming, that his sultry rays might not fall upon the sick 
man's fevered temples. The winds refrained, that they might not chill his ex- 
hausted blood. The smoke-tinged, leaden clouds only withheld their tears that 
they might not fall upon the pallid, up-turned face. 

It was the last chance, indeed. Bravely he fought for it. Patiently he bore 
long weeks of weariness and agony that he might possess it. But it was not 
so willed. The last chance was lost. The eloquent lips are mute. The busy 
brain is at rest. The heart that always beat to the music of humanity and 
honor beats no more. 

All that is mortal of James A. Garfield was laid in state beneath the dome 
of the Capitol— close to the theater of his greatest triumphs and within a few 
steps, only of the consecrated portico where, six months and a half ago, he pro- 
nounced that master-piece of statesmanlike delivery— his Inaugural Address. 

Thousands of his fellow-countrymen and countrywomen, and young children 
who have learned to speak his name with admiration, gazed with tender grief 
and farewell sobs upon the pallid lineaments of their fallen chief. 

It is well— it is better. It is well to mourn, but it is better to hope. It is 
well to be bowed at a sense of the loss which the country has sustained in the 
death of President Garfield, but it is better to feel that his immortal spirit, di- 
vested of its- temporal habiliments, was filling that vast rotunda with its pres- 
ence and shedding the influences of the good that he wrought through every 
chamber and corridor, and down into the highways and byways of the city, and 
far and wide among the people whom he served so well. 

This was the faith that permitted us to gaze upon the features of the dead 
President and feel that he still lives— that his name and fame will ever hereaf- 
ter constitute a part of the glory of the American Kepublic— that the great- 
ness of his legacies is measured by the greatness of his achievements, and that 
the strong soul which made him great has its eternal abiding-place elsewhere 
than in the grave. 

Out of the inanimate clay which was but the symbol of his mortality, sprang 
the perennial flower of an illustrious example. 

The information of tbe death of President James A. Garfield at 10:35 P. M. 
Monday, September 19, was flashed over the wires of the world at that hour, 
and the heart of the American thrilled in painful harmony with the distance- 
destructive electric power. 

He was dead ! The earthen vase, wherein his grand soul existed and held 
its being, was shattered; the spirit had struck upward toward the stars; noth- 
ing save the human dross remained behind. 

Not unexpected was the death; for eighty days, between the extremes of 
hope and fear, the nation had paused, and, pausing, held its heart still in dread 
suspense, for fear was uppermost ; but still, though not unanticipated, the 
sudden shock was too terrible to be other than startling. 

The ghastly information reached the national capital, and circulated through- 
out the streets teeming with human life just as the theaters and places of 



168 

atnnsement had closed, and the exodus from all found the light laughter that 
the amusement had awoke within them metamorphosed into tears and the 
intensest grief. 

The brave chieftain, who had faced death fearlessly on many a bloody field, 
who had written the history of a pure life by the purest deeds, wiiose exist- 
ence was ever characterized by a natv.ral and a domestic grandness of charac- 
ter; the perfect statesman, valiant soldier, the tender liusband and father, was 
dead! Garfield passed from earth to Heaven baptized into a holier existence 
by the tears of fifty millions of people— confirmed in the newer and endless 
religion of tlie saints by the chaste record of his life. 

The city w.is draped at once, all of the departments closed the next day, 
business was practically suspended and the very atmosphere was wan with 
grief. 

The funeral cortege arrived September 21, in the afternoon. A sad antithe- 
sis, the retur/i of that special train to its departure for Elberon, when millions 
of hearts leaped liappily in hope of the recovery to health of its precious 
freight. 

The avenue was thronged with thousands, and thousands followed the corpse 
to the Capitol, where it was laid in state on the same catafalque whereon Lin- 
coln, Chase, Sumner, and Wilson rested. For more than twenty-four hours a 
human tide ebbed and flowed about the coffin of the great dead, casting one 
last lingering look npon the face of the one man whom all hold as good, whom 
all regarded with a love as if blood kindred. 

It is certain that over two hundred thousand people visited the Capitol to 
pay their last tribute of personal respect to the martyred Chief Magistrate. 

His appearance was unpleasant to look upon as generally stated. To be 
sure, no one knowing the robust, powerful, youthful man, in the full vigor and 
in the prime of life, would recognize any trait of him as he lay in the coffin; 
but the face, though smaller and very dark, was not as much changed as that 
of many dead men whom we have looked upon. 

The funeral services were held in the rotunda of the Capitol on Friday. What 
a contrast between the two Fridays. It was upon Fiiday, the 4th of March, 1881, 
that the grand man Garfield, with a magnificent career before liim, rode to that 
Capitol, with oath appropriate took in hand the helm of the ship of State, tenderly 
kissed his wife and white-haiied mother, and entered upon iiis administration as 
son to the laws and husband of the nation. It was Friday, the 23d of September, 
1881, that what was once Garfield was solemnly, slowly, sadly conveyed from the 
same Capitol a corpse, with the city once so joyful, draped in the habiliments of 
woe, the wife broken-hearted following, and the white-haired mother in the far-ofl:' 
Oliio sobbing lier waning life away with the ever-recurring wail, " Why did they 
want to kill my baby I " 

A strange prognostication of the death of President Garfield was made several 
months ago in the columns of the Capital by the remarkable a?tro]ogist,"Kathiel," 
of Bltimore. This gentleman i= the same who prophesied the assassination of 
the Czar of Russia nearly ten days before its occurrence. The document is a cu- 
riosity of literanre, and evidences that there really are more things in heaven and 
earth" than are generally accepted in our philosophy. It was published on the 20th 
of last Ma!-f;h, and says : 

General Garfield, according to the very best authority, was born November 19, 
1831, at 2 o'clock in the morning. The planet Saturn had risen shortly before in 
the sign Virgo, and Mars was not far below the horizon in Libra. Mercury and 
the sun each cast a sextiie aspect to the ascending degree, and the moon a trine. 
He lias, therefore, some portion of the qualities of each of these planets in his 
phvsical and mental organization. 

Ptolemy tells us that the intellectual abilities are never first-class unless Mercury 
and the moon have aspect with one another or with the ascendant. Im this case 
they are configurated together, and also with the ascendant. The President is a 
man of very striking ability. Mercury in Scorpio makes him "just, uncompromis- 
ing, constant, firm of purpose, prudent, patient, industrious, strict, chaste, mind- 
ful of injuries, steady in pursuance of an oltject and desirous of ho':^r." These 
characteristics are somewhat diminished by the opposition of Mercury to the 
moon. Mercury has no aspect with any other body except the sun, and, says 
Ptolemy : ''Mercury alone having dominion of the mind renders it clever, sensible, 
capable of great learning, inventive, expert, logical, studious of nature, specula- 



169 

tive, of good genius, emulous, benevolent, skillful in argument, accurate in con- 
jecture, Adapted to science and tractable." He adds : "The sun likewise co-operates 
to increase probity, industry, honor and laudable qualities." 

The nativity is not fortunate except as regards the President's intellectual gifts. 
The moon was at the full, and neither sun nor moon had any aspect with Jupiter 
or Venus. He is likely to have a troubled administration. 

The year will be extremely unfortunate for the country at large as well as for 
its Chief Magistrate. On this account I judge there is not the slightest probability 
of his election to a second term. 

This being a nocturnal birth, and the moon being on the cusp of the ninth house, 
she was the hyleg, or giver of life. Her position could scarcely have been more 
unfavorable. She was very near the evil of the fixed stars. Caput Algol, at her 
full, and nearly parallel to Mars. These things threaten injuries to the face and 
eyes, and a painful death. 

The President did not, like Grant, reach his eminence in life by a fortuitous 
combination of circumstances, but by his conspicuous ability, and this we find 
designated by the fortunate trine from the ninth house of the moon to Saturn. 
The only other good position in the horoscope is the trine of Venus and Jupiter. 
As already remarked, the President's firmness of character is likely to be con- 
siderably modified by the opposition of the moon and Mercury. A writer in the 
University Magazine^ In an article some time ago on " The Soul and the Stars," 
took occasion to point out the remarkable recurrence of this aspect in men of high 
genius. It was found in Shakespeare, Byron, Wordsworth, Shelley, Keats, Heine, 
Musset and Ruskin, and appea "s to bestow a tinge of romance and poetry to the 
mind. These, in Garfield's case, are tempered by the graver characteristics pro- 
duced by the beautiful trine of the moon to Saturn. 

It is a curious circumstance that at the time General Garfield was nominated, 
June S, 1880, near 1 o'clock P. M., the last degrees of Virgo were rising, the 
same portion of the zodiac ascended as he came into the world. The sun, moon 
and Mercury were all near the meridian, and the sun was in trine (fortunate) to 
the places occupied at the nativity by Jupiter and Venus. When the tide first 
turned in the convention the very degree of the sign of the Virgin under W/hich 
Mr. Garfield was born was making its appearance on the eastern horizon as the 
machinery of the universe performed its daily course. 

September 23. — From the Capitol to the depot the sight of the mournful cortege 
as it filed out of the historical east portico of the Capitol was a singularly grand 
and significantly impressive one. Over the same steps from which the inaugural 
was delivered by the rfecent chosen Chief Magistrate, then in the full glory of his 
superb manhood, was now carried the lifeless, and worse than lifeless, remains. 
Those who had looked upon the features while exposed under the dome could not 
help shudder as the coflin was carried by, recalling that ghastly sight that 
marred their recollection of the dead President's finely cut features. 

As the services closed the waiting military were prepared to take their parts in 
the procession. When the corpse was safely placed within the hearse the first 
movement began, and the finely drilled body wheeled into line. 

A larger concourse of people than had, perhaps, ever gathered about the spot 
were assembled to sf e that short passage of the dead from the door to the vehicle. 
All eyes were riveted on the sombre burden carried by stalwart soldiers who had 
charge of it after leaving the rotunda. 

The next thing looked for was the widowed lady, for whom the tenderest 
sympathy was expressed on all sides, but no indication of a willingness to respect 
her feelings. This ordeal was spared her by the admirable arrangements made, 
and the public outside did not know the time or place of her departure from the 
Capitol. 

The funeral cortege extended from the Capitol to Four-and-a-half-street, about 
half a mile, and was an imposing sight. The soldiers with arms reversed to the 
muflied beat of the drum and the sad refrain of the bands. It was indeed a sad, 
grand spectacle. Major Brook, with a platoon of mounted police, headed the 
procession and was followed by the Sicond Artillery band. 

Colonel Webster and staff, ali mounted, came next, with the Washington Light 
Infantry, 120 strong. Colonel Moore commanding. This command, in their light, 
dressv uniforms, and soldierly bearing, attracted much favorable comment. Pis- 
torio's Band, in its neat uniform, followed, immediately preceding the National 
Rifles, 80 men, Col. J. 0. P. Burnside in command. The Rifles made an excel- 
12 



170 

lent showing by their fine marching. The Washington Light Guards, 50 men^. 
Lieutenant Hodgkins, did well. The Butler Zouaves, Captain Fisher, 40 men, car- 
ried themselves in a soldierl}' manner, as did also the Wasiilngton Cadets, Captain 
Fleetwood, who immediately succeeded them. Following came the Capital City 
Guards, Captain Kerey,40 men, and the Lincoln Light Infantry, Captain Cornell, 
45 men, each organization attracting much attention. Next came the Marine 
Band, J. K. Sousa, leader, 50 pieces, and drum corps, which acquitt^id itself in a 
most creditable manner. Coming as one advancing line followed the Marine 
Corps, which, though less showy than some of the local militia, for precision of 
step and bearing looked, after all, ideal soldiers. This command was 200 strong. 
Following the marines came four companies of artillery, which made an excellent 
showing. Eight pieces of the Light Artillery, drawn by four horses each, came 
next, and following this battalion, and preceding the De Molay Commandery, 
mounted, came Col. Roberfc Boyd and staft', in charge of the civic branch. The 
De Molay Commandery, 65 men, with draped colors, R. M. Thorp, Eminent 
Commander, attracted mucli attention, and were the feature of the civic part of 
the procession. Haverly's band, the members wearing silk hats and crape upon 
the left arm, immediately preceded Washington Commandery No. 1, 79 men, W. 
J. Stephenson, Eminent Commander. This com?nandery was composed of an 
especially fine body of men, who marched well. Next to the Marine Band, the 
Fifth Regiment Band, that accompanied Beauseant Commandery of Knights 
Templar from Baltimore, attracted attention and received praise for its excellent 
renditions. The visiting commandery, too, was a fine body of men, marched well 
and kept an even line. Tfie troops and militia kept on down Sixth street, and 
massed about the depo'. The Masonic bodies baked on Pennsylvania avenue op- 
posite Sixth street, and were drawn up in line facing down Sixth street, forming 
an admirable guard from the pressure of the immense throng that had gathered at 
that point. 

Tiie hearse followed, drawn by six iron gray horses, each led by a colored 
groom. Upon each side of the he*rse marched the pall-bearers, the military offi- 
cers on the right and tlie naval olficers on the left. A carriage containing Rev. 
Dr. Power, wife and family, followed. 

Following came carriages containing Mrs. Garfield and family. Then came car- 
riages as follows: President Arthur and Secretary Blaine, Secretaries Windom, 
Hunt", Kirkwoo 1, Lincoln ; ex-President Grant and Mr. R. B. Hayes, Chief Jus- 
tice Waite and Justices Harlan and Miller. Foreign legations in carriages ; mem- 
bers of the House of Representatives in carriages, members of the Senate; General 
Ruggles and friends, Major Nickerson and friends, Messrs. Morton, Montgomery, 
Hudley and Balway, of the President's household ; Colonel Corbin and family, 
Governor Ramsey and friends, Mr. George Rollins and Mr. Bliss, General Elmer 
J. R. Van Wormer, A. D. Hazen, and Dr. McDonald. Gen. W. S. Hancock and 
staff occupied a carriage lined with crimson and satin, and drawn by handsome 
bay horses. It was the finest turnout in line. 

The Grand Arnay of the Republic, William Gibson, commander, followed, 
"With the Pennsylvania Republican Association next, and the Roscoe Conkling 
Boys in Blue, Colonel Oyster, commanding, bringing up the rear. A number 
of carriages containing citizens followed. Tiie funeral arrangements were in 
charge of Undertaker Speare, who accompanied the remains to Cleveland. 
The 125 carriages Avere furnished by Mr. Allison Nailor, and they were ar- 
ranged in line without delay. 

As the melancholy cortege filed into the depot, the sky added not a little to 
the mournful effect of the mundane surroundings. A dark leaden hue over- 
spread the heavens, breaking into a fine rain as the train moved out. The 
most striking feature was the formation of a bow in the clouds at the same 
moment. This was hailed by many people as an omen of the heavenly peace 
now enjoyed by the departed President. 

There was more dr less bustle and confusion within the depot when the pro- 
cession arrived. A great crowd pressed against the iron railings of the gates 
and peered curiously through, anxious to catch a glimpse of the sorrowful pro- 
cession. As it passed by and through the police endeavored to keep the people 
back to prevent confusion, but they could not do so. Army and navy oflicers 
standing around lent their aid in preserving order, but it was a difficult task, and 
the people, believing they had some rights, not only pressed against the gates, 
but clambered upon the railings and climbed the posts, determined to see the 
cortege. And a sad cortege it was. Amid the strains of muftied music the 



171 

body-bearers removed the casket from the hearse. They lifted the casket ten- 
derly upon their shoulders and entered the gate with slow step. 

They were preceded by three policemen. As they entered the inclosure the 
army officers, including Generals Sherman, Sheridan, and Hancock, stood with 
bare heads on one side, and Admiral Nicholls, with the naval officers, on the 
other. There was a blast of bugles from the artillery corps without, and all 
stood silent watching for the bearers of the casket and its followers to pass. 
Senator Beck, .Marshall Jewell, Governor Hoyt, of Pennsylvania, and son; Ser- 

§eant-at-Arms Bright, Marshal Henry, Commissioner Loring, Sevellon Brown, 
enator Jones, of Nevada, and Attorney-General MaeVeagh walked past the 
bearers of the body and hurried up the platform. The Attorney-General was 
acting as usher. When his party was seated within the train he gave the neces- 
sary signal, and the funeral cortege passed in as follows: Revs. Dr. Rankin and 
Power and Dr. Reyburn, arm in arm, abreast; soldiers bearing the casket. As 
this passed by the crowd peered through the railing, and sobs broke the still- 
ness. Ladies who were crushed in with othfirs cried piteously, and there were 
tears in the eyes of the stoutest and mo-.t hardened men Avho witnessed the 
spectacle. The casket was unadorned, gave by the branches of palm and the 
elegant wreath contributed by the Queon of England. 

The bearers walked slowly, while the muffied drums without rolled and the 
bugles and bands made the welkin ring with sad cadences. Without obstruc- 
tion the body was hnally placed in the car. The bearers mounted the platform 
and tlie doors were closed. The army and navy officers followed the body and 
drew up in line along the platform and watched the body-bearers de]3osit their 
burden within. Dr. Boynton, Private Secretary Brown, Colonel Corbin, Major 
Pruden and Mr. Charles Hendley fell into line with the officers. Then there 
was a delay of about two 'minutes. 

General Grant, leanii\g on the arm of Mr. Hayes, then entered the depot 
under escort of Attorney-General MaeVeagh. They were closely followed by 
Senators Edmunds, Ingalls and Kellogg. This party attracted quite general 
attention. Tiiey walked to where the train was standing and took positions 
just opposite the car in which the remains of the late President lay. The White 
House employees were next to pass over the platform and fall in behind those 
who had preceded them. 

Suddenly there was a warning to maintain silence through the depot. Many 
people believed that Mrs. Garfield was coming next. But the crowd was mis- 
taken. The next party proved to be President Arthur and Secretary Blaine. 
The arms of the two were locked and both were pale, but they walked briskly 
and looked straight ahead, and seemed oblivious to the surroundings. When 
they passed where the officers of the army and navy were standing the latter 
saluted them respectfully. The two distinguished gentlemen acknowledged 
the salute by simply bowing their heads. They fell ofi: to one side apart from 
the others gathered on the platform, and stood uncovered and silent until the 
train moved away. 

Secretary Lincoln and wife. Secretary Windom and wife. Secretary Hunt and 
wife, Postmaster-General James and wife and Secretary Kirkwood walked 
slowly in next, followed by Chief Justice Waite and Associate Justices of the 
United States Supreme Court. Senator Sherman walked in alone. After him 
came Senators and Representatives in Congress indiscriminately. 

The train intended to carry the illustrious dead and the mourners and escort 
was drawn up in the depot, on the west side of the second platform. It was 
headed by engine No. 1, John Unglaub, engineer, and G. A. Reynolds, fireman. 
Next was an Eastlake combination coach. No. .369, which went out empty and 
which was switched off at Baltimore. The object of placing this car on the 
train was to have one car between those composing the special and the engine 
in order that tlie passengers should liave less annoyance from the locomotive. 
The tliird car was No. 120, President Roberts' private car, specially set apart 
for Mrs. Garfield and those she might wish to accompany her. Next was the 
handsome Pullman hotel car Marlborough, No. 331, intended for the ex-Pi'esi- 
dents and the Cabinet. After that was the Pullman sleeper Paris, No. 187, 
for the officers of the army and navy, forming the guard of honor. Then the 
Pullman sleeper Galitzen, No. 279, for the Judges of the Supreme Court and 
foreign ministers. Behind this was the car No. 497, which was to carry the 
remains, and the guard of soldiers. The last car in the train was combination 
car No. 248, which contained the baggage and refreshments for those traveling 



172 



'-i fhpir <5qf ^ journey. When the train reached Baltimore it was to be reversed, 
hringhig the . combination car next to tlie engine and Mrs. Garfield's car the 

""^ThpV^Irt w?Je almost hid by black cloth. A border ran the full length along 
+v>a rnr> ni.fl sf thp ^ads, and betwGBn the windows it assumed a panel shape, fin- 
lifo.1 ,>ft- v^ith h wa -md rosettes. The sides of the car were completely covered 
„!!Ihm, th^ cam^ mk 'rial, leaving nothing expo-ed but the name and number. 
^^hJ^.n.v! nn th^ p'fr ^r.L ^part to carry the dead President, and which the railroad 
Si^l lt,nH7^f1 -!h.O.V^ '-^^e car," was more elaborately draped, of course, than 
,^ i'Lv ThP n, r^r P w^ s dressed in keeping with the remaining cars of the train 
b t^nsfd^scarcelTa ml ht- but black met the eye on the sides and ends of the 
but inside scarcely any tlm^^^^ covered with black cloth, studded. with bows and 
coach Ihe f 1\' g/^*? 'f ^ ^^^ . .inj. of red, white and blue li.ies. In the center 
'?'' Tp'r!^t«? ? UP TPlasek"^ five by fourteen feet, eight inches in height, 
stood the catafalque Ihe base w^ ^ and had a height of one foot two inches, 
and ''^/^'^'^f «f^^.^t "^«^J^f, ^'^^^^^ h, festooned by the national colors, pinned 

The latter was covered vvith black cI<H^^^^ two mounds of flowers and th^ beauti- 
up by bovvs and rosettes. At the base i%, , 

ful cross brought from Elberon last Wetij^^^uay , . , acoomnanv the 

After careful consideration the followko^ were Uesignated to accompany the 
train bv the management of t!ie road : Caj> taui J. M. Whelple.y^ who went as 
Lidin uv tuc „ PrpoifiAnr v'^s taken to Loug Branch, ou the 

through conductor at the time tlie President v hrnirj-ht thp hnrlv hark last 

6th of September, and who had charge of the otie "^ i^^„tt JJ c/evelan^ 
Wednesday, September 21, went as through conv. "^^o ^o <:^leveland , <;^aptain 
Thomas T. Luckett had immediate charge as local «>."ductoi Mi . G. F Schuman 
local baggage master and Mr. L. C. Wilhelm brakema?. • Mr. Ge mge G. Wdkins, 
iuTer te^Mfent of the Baltimore and Potomac and N.^rthern Central railroads, 
3 Mr ILR Lintlf.cum, road foreman of engines of the Northern Central road, 
accompanied the train to Marysville, where the local crews vereejjanged 

While the train was waiting for its sad par y ^'^^ travelei., woid was lec^^ 
that Mrs Garfield would come in advance of the others. In ^J»<lei to screen her 
as muc as possible from the gaze of the crowd the ^J^ne ^^^^[e J^ «f^^J- 2^4^^^^^^ 
out of the vard and backed down Sixth street. Shortly after 4 o^l««^^^;^' <^^J"- 
age turned into the street and stopped by the car. In it ^^^.j^^ll' ^^^^f/^VS 
MoUie Garfield, Harry Garfield, Mrs. Colonel Kockweil and Miss Rockwell, iney 
pntered the car', which then ran back into the d.pot and coupled on to the remain- 
de 'oUhe trSn'. When the train moved oft", at 5:10 o'clock, thefoU-wu.g person^ 
hP^idps the familv, were known to be on board. In car No. 331 Mi. K. B. ilayes, 
lecretlries wS Lincoln, Kirkwood, Postmaster-General James and 

Sss^rSi^t tSs^ss^br^i?:ts^MfS 
SHsi^pS^?i=n;^ 

Marshal Henry entered this cai-^ but it jys -;PP<>-d ^f J, J^^^^ ^f ileSJe clr! 
Ualn got in mot on pa^s to Mj^Ga ifi^^ Artillery, who kept 

were twelve privates, tleta^e" "0^".;"'' f, ^.-.ofW 5on the train started slowly and 



were twelve privates detai^anomuie^e.^^^^^^^ 

faithful watch over t le beloved dead. At ^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^ ^^rj it found Sixth 

the journey to Clevelaad vva begun^^^^ A^ ^^^^ ^.^-.j^ O^t 

street packed with people, the «' ^ ^ f ;;' space oe^^^^^ t ^^^ ^^^^.^ ^^^^ 

on Virginia avenue the same cond^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^1^^, ^„,t by 

tunnel was entered that the '^^"Ititude vvas ^*^" ^«JJ^""' parrying the late Presi- 

them they gave a long '^^^,^^'1^^^^^^^^ of what 
dent foreverfrom heir sight ^^"'Jif^.^J't^^i^';.^^^^^^ a Presidential career, 

had been such a glorious and brilliant ue innin^ ui a ^^^^ 

The second section of the ^""'^^•^l ^^l^''^,^ ^^^^",1^^^^ one Representative 

on the second section ^f ««Pt benatoij and Co^^^^^^^ pP.^^^^ ^^^^ 

each of the Nationa Associated liess and ^cw^x^^^ 



173 

start the second section ran at increased speed until in sight of the first section. 
The sfr-cond train was made up as follows : Engine No. 11. First car — hotel car. 
aecond car — Senate, occupied by Senators Bayard, Anthony, Camden, Sherman, 
Ingalls, Pugh, Morgan, Bhiir, Miller, and Sergeant-at-Arras Bright, Executive 
Clerk Peyton, Stenographer Mnrphy, and Mr. Christie, Deputy Sergeant-at-Arms. 
Total, 13. Third car — Senate, occupied by Senators Jonas, McMillan, Jones, of 
Nevada; Garland, Beck, Jones, of Florida; Edmunds, Kellogg, Groome. ^Total, 
9, Fourth car — railroad people. Fifth car — House of Representatives' occu- 
pied by Congressmen Jacobs, Harris, Brewer, Everett, Wilson, Candler, Bel- 
mont, Chancey, a messenger; Dow, a messenger; Smith, of the library; Jordan, 
janitor. Total, 11. Sixth car — House of Representatives, occupied by Congress- 
men Evins, Robinson, McCook, McKinley, Briggs, Dowd, Henderson, Watson, 
McClure, Morey, Dawes, Bnuum, Taylor, Ritchie, Buck, Kasson, Beltzhoover, 
Mutchler, Urner, West and Rainey, deputy-sergeant-at-arms; Field, doorkeeper; 
also, Congressmen Randall, Ermentrout and Tucker. Total, 15. Seventh car — 
House of Representatives — Congressmen Hoge, Townsend, Hill, Hardenburg, 
Thomas, Clark, Dezendorf, Nathan, Schultz, Camp, Hiscock, Bayne, John H. 
Starin, General Burke and Dr. Loring. Total, 16. Last car — lunch car. Hotel 
on second section; seventy-six people, all told. The Congressional train passed 
Annapolis Junction at 6:16 P. M., some minutes behiiul the first section, but mov- 
ing forty miles an hour and drawing closer. The occupants of the second were 
not at all crowded. Lunch was s&rved when passing Baltimore. The Senators 
ate on the hotel car, and car No. 6 was arranged for members of the House of 
Representatives, and those on board were provided for in this way. 

The funeral train reached Baltimore at 6:34 P. M. A delay of ten minutes was 
caused by the enormous crowd of people who, despite all efforts of the railroad 
company's officials, crowded upon the track outside of the depot, making it im- 
possible to proceed with the train except at an enormous cost of human life. As 
it became necessary to bring the train to a standstill the train officials decided to 
make an official inspection of the wheels and running gear and to take a fresh 
supply of water. Except for the great crowd at the depot, however, no stop 
would have been made. It was estimated by well-informed persons present that 
100,000 people were in and about the depot, and it was stated that all the streets 
in that vicinity were thronged. It finally became necessary to start the engine at 
the slowest possible pace and actually push the people off' of the track. The 
mournful cortege steamed ous of Baltimore at 6:54, and five minutes later at Mc. 
Vernon, passed to the Northern Central I'oad, enronU for Harrisburg. 

At 7:09 the train had passed Cockeysville, Md., fifteen miles from Baltimore, 
and the next fourteen miles to Parkton, Md., was run in ten minutes, more than a 
mile per minute. Between Parkton and New Freedom, Pa., eight minutes time 
was lost, occasioned by taking water and climbing a steep grade. 

York, Pa., was reached at 8:23 P. M. Over 15,000 had gathered at the depot to 
see the train, but it passed through at a high rate of speed, in order, if possible, to 
make up some of the lost time. Marysville, just across the river from this place, 
was reached at 9.18, and after twelve minutes delay, passed to the Pennsylvania 
Central track*. It did not cross the river to Harrisburg. 

Newport, Pa., September 23, 10:23 P. M.— Everything is going well on board 
the train. Most of the party have retired for the night, but Mrs. Garfield and 
Mrs. Rockwell will sit up all night. The military guard around the casket will be 
relieved at midnight. The monotony of the night has fairly set in. We are now 
seven minutes late, the average speed thus far having been about thirty-seven 
miles an hour, including stoppages, and the actual running time about forty miles 
an hour. 

Cresson, Pa., September 24, 2:29 A. M. — We are now 262 miles out from 
Washington, and are making excellent time. Nearly all on board are asleep. 
A stop of four minutes was made at Altoona, the only one since leaving Marys- 
ville. 

ARRIVAL AT CLEVELAND. 

The accident on the road west of Pittsburg delayed the funeral train, and the 
remains of President Garfield, instead of reaching the city at 11 o'clock, as it had 
been arranged, did not arrive until 1:15 in the afternoon. 

The whole city was astir early, and the last details of the funeral preparation 
were soon perfected. Owing to the fact that the Union depot is located at the 



174 

bottom of a sharp declivity, and is otherwise unfavorable for the reception of the 
funeral train, the committee of arrangements decided to receive the remains at 
Euclid station. This is in the very midst of the most delightful suburb, and three 
miles from the public square containing the catafalque, the beautiful, broad, aris- 
tocratic avenue leading in a straight line from the station to the square. AH along 
Euclid avenue the residences were draped in costly mourning, and there were ex- 
hibited evervwhere evidences of deep sorrow. 

The procession to meet the funeral train was formed at noon, and at that hour, 
under the command of Col. John M. Wilson, U. S. A., marched to Euclid avenue 
depot. Upon the arrival of tlie head of the column at Wilson avenue near the 
station, it halted and formed into line, facing south. The hearse and carriages 
turned into Kennard street, passing through into Prospect street, thence into 
Wilson avenue, where they waited the arrival of the train. 

The train arrived at 1:15 P. M., promptly on schedule time. Arrangements had 
all been completed for the reception of the remains at the depot an hour before 
the train arrived, and the casket was immediately placed in a large hearse, which 
was massively draped with mourning. 

The guard of honor escorted the remains to the hearse. The guard consisted of 
Generals Sherman, Sheridan, Hancock, Drum, and Meigs, of the army, and Ad- 
mirals Rodgers, Stanley and English, and Commodores Hooker and Wales. The 
Ohio executive delegation divided ranks, between which passed Mrs, Garfield and 
the ladies of the mourning car, accompanied by the Cabinet officers and Colonel 
Rockwell. 

The hearse was drawn by fonr jet black horses with black broadcloth neck 
and body blankets trimmed with deep silver fringe. Each horse was led by a 
colored groom. The first to alight from the funeral train was General Sher- 
man and staff. They formed parallel lines along the platform between which 
the immediate members of the family of the late President walked two by two 
to the carriages which were in waiting for them. Mrs. Garfield, her son 
Harry, and her daughter Mollie first entered a carriage. As Mrs. Garfield 
passed dowai the platform, leaning on the arm of her son and accompanied by 
Seci etary Blaine, every eye was upon her. She was closely veiled, but her face 
could be easily seen. Her expression was somewhat careworn but firm, and 
she exhibited remarkable fortitude as she passed through the throngs of peo- 
ple about the depot. As soon as the remains had been deposited in the hearse 
the church bells commenced tolling and continued until the procession reached 
the public square. The escort from the depot to the pavilion on the square 
consisted of the Oriental Knights Templar, of Cleveland, 150 strong; the 
Holy Rood Commandery, of Cleveland, 55 strong, and the Columbia Command- 
ery Knights Templar, of Washington, about 100 strong. The dead President 
was a member of the latter commandery. Besides these organizations there 
were the Cleveland City troops and several others. Four hundred members 
of the State militia were in attendance in the neighborhood of the depot, act- 
ing principally as guard. The crowd was very large and extended for tw^o or 
three blocks in either direction from the station. Perfect order prevailed, 
however, every one appearing to realize the solemnity of the occasion. 

The immediate members of the family took the first carriages and were fol- 
lowed by the members of the Cabinet. Ex-President Hayes occupied a carriage 
with Secretary Windom, with whom lie walked from the cars arm-in-arm. 
Colonels Rockwell and Swaim, the old friends of the deceased President, and 
who were constantly with liini throughout his illness, also occupied one car- 
riage by themselves. Dr. A. V. Boynton, the family physician, accompanied 
some of the LuUes. Mrs. Garfield did not go to the public square, but was 
driven at once to the residence of Mr. Mason, whose guest she was while in the 
city. Colonel A. F. Rockwell, Judge-Advocate General Swaim, E. O. Rockwell, 
Colonel Corbin. Private Secretary Brown, Executive Clerk Warren Young, 
and Mr. Judd. the telegraph operator of the Executive Mansion; Chief Clerk 
Browni, of the State Department, and Mr. Sweet, private secretary to Secretary 
Lincoln, occupied carriages immediately after the members of the Cabinet. 
Private Secretary J. Stanley Brown devoted his time to properly seating the 
members of tlie "Cabinet and seeing that the carriages were started without 
delay. Dr. Power, pastor of the Christian Church of Washington, accompanied 
the remains, as did a delegation from Oliio. The time occupied in starting the 
procession was nearly one hour. The Congressional train arrived about fifteen 



175 

Tiiinutes after the funeral train, and the joint committee of the houses of Con- 
gress were promptly furnished with carriages, and driven with the procession 
to the public square. Private Secretary Brown informed a representative of 
the Associated Press, immediately on the arrival o^ the funeral tram, that 
there were no incidents worthy of note along the route of travel; that 
everything passed off quietly, and, beyond mentioning the crowds which as- 
sembled at the various stations, there could be little said of sufficient impor- 
tance to chronicle. , .„ . , . . , , 

Mrs. Garfield bore the journey extremely well, and still maintains the remark- 
able fortitude whicli she has exhibited since her husDand was wounded. Miss 
Mollie and Master Harry also bear up under the sorrow extremely well, and, 
while their countenances denote the severe shock that their father's death was 
to them, they do not manifest their feelings publicly. During the time the 
funeral cortege was passing over the route from the depot to the catafalque, 
which is situated in the public square, there was little or no bustle or confu- 
sion: while the broad streets were literally packed with human beings, all 
seemed to be in heartfelt sympathy with the mourners, and a qnietness such 
as pervades a small funeral was observed by all. After the body was placed m 
the public square, the gates were thrown open, and the thousands of persons 
waiting to view the casket and floral decorations were permitted to pass 
through. 

After the remains of the late President airived at Monmouth Park it was de- 
cided not to tiirow the gates open to the public, inasmuch as the arrangements 
were not completed. The pavilion was finished during the afternoon, however, 
and the gates were opened the next day. The pavilion was probably the finest 
temporary structure of the kind ever erected. A large force was at work on it 
day and night for several days. It was located in the center of the square at the 
intersection of Superior and Ontario streets, and was forty feet square at the base. 
The four fronts were spanned by arches thirty-six feet high and twenty-four feet 
wide at the base. The catafalque upon which the casket rested was five and a 
half feet high, covered with black velvet, and handsomely festooned. A long 
carpeted walk ascended to the floor from the east and west fronts. The pavilion 
was seventy-five feet high to the apex of the roof. From the center of the roof 
rose a beautiful gilt sphere supporting the figure of an angel twenty-four feet 
high. The columns at each side of the arches were ornamented by shields of a 
beautiful design and were exquisitely draped. Over these were suspended un- 
furled flags. The centers of the arches bore similar shields. On the angles of the 
roof were groups of furled flags. Projecting from the angles of the base were 
elevated platforms to be occupied bv fully uniformed guards. Each platform was 
provided with a suitable piece of field artillery. The structure was appropriately 
decorated from base to dome with black and white crape. Flowers and flags were 
displayed in various portions of the pavilion. The interior was beautified with 
rare plants and choice flowers and exquisite floral designs, two carloads of which 
were from Cincinnati. It was a magnificent piece of work, both in design and 
execution. The east and west entrances to Monumental Park are heavy Gothic 
arches with drives and openings for foot passengers on each side. They were 
situated a sufficient distance from the catafalque to appear to be a part of it. The 
eastern one was covered with crape with white and black trimmings, running 
round each column, and the top border with blue and white stars. Added to these 
were several golden sliields. The western gateway was similar in construction, 
and seemed fairly to close up Superior street. The extreme outside pillars were 
the names of the States in black letters. The north and south approaches are 
in reality gateways, being built with bas-reliefs draped in Avhite, with one large 
central arch and heavv posts on either side. Surmounting all appear large golden 
eagles and other appropriate designs. The catafalque was the great temporary 
monument of attraction, standing with its four open arches and surmounted by 
its massive golden ball. Its confined grandeur required a close scrutinv to fully 
appreciate it. Resting on each of its four corners was a cannon heavily draped. 
Large black flags drooped from each side immediately beneath the cornice and 
still lower the national colors with streamers of crape alternating with the bars of 
red and white. An elegant shield, several feet in length, composed of swords, 
was conspicuouslv displayed on the octagon faces of the four sides. Half circling 
the arches were choice ferns upon a white background, arranged in triangular 
shape, and heavy gold fining run around the pillars. The interior was trimmed 



176 

in plain and appropriate bands of ricli black goods. At the south of the structure 
a large platform was erected on a level with the catafalque, on which sat the emi- 
nent visitors, the clergy and tlie singing societies. The catafalque was entered 
from the east and west by an inclined platform covered wltn matting. It was suf- 
ficiently wide to allow for the passage of not less than thirty persons abreast. 
During the forenoon wreaths upon wreaths of rare green were attached to the 
upper part of the structure. Two cartloads of ferns, leaves, plants, &c., came 
from the Cincinnati exposition, also a cartload from parties in Philadelphia. The 
arches were beautifully draped with strings of evergreen. 

The President's coffin lay with the head toward the east, the words "Life's- 
race well run, life's work well done, life's crown well won, now comes rest," ap- 
pear in beautiful letters on a scroll between two pillars. A foot above this was a 
fine crayon portrait of the deceased. On the head of the coffin rested the elegant 
floral wreaths, ordered to be made at New York by Queen Victoria. At the foot 
were two ferns lying crossed. Above the casket nothing intervened except a 
heavy velvet crape cloth which was attached to the pillows. About 7 o'clock in 
the evening Postmaster-General James and wife and General Phil Sheridan came 
into the building. 

The car in which the casket was brought was filled with flowers, which almost 
hid the coffin from sight. The coffin was wrapped in a large flag and in triple 
folds of tine crape. Upon It were a few white flowers a:nd some large green leaves. 
It was borne from the train by ten United States artillerymen, who wore white 
helmets, and who, with drawn swords, took their position beside the hearse. As 
soon as the casket had been placed in the hearse the beautiful black horses drew 
it slowly down the avenue towards the file of soldiers and Knights Templar, who 
were drawn np on tlio west side, and faced ea^t with beads r^verentlv bowed. 

Slowly the procession took up its march down the avenue in the following 
order: Colonel Wilson and staff, Silver Grey Band, First City Troop, hearse 
and horses, guarded by Knights Templar, in columns of threes, and flanked 
by ten horsemen of the City Troop each side: Cleveland Greys, Forty-second 
Volunteers, the Cabinet, General Sherman and aids. Ohio gnards of honor, 
composed of officei's of the army and navy and distinguished guests. As the 
column, headed by three platoons of police started from the Euclid-avenue 
station, St. Paul's Church bell commenced tolling. Other churches along the 
line followed and added to the solemnities of the march. The sidewalks and 
broad lawais were literally packed with people. Great credit is due to the au- 
thorities for the good order which prevailed. Thousands of persons occupied 
stands erected for the occasion and thousands of others viewed the sad scene 
from carriages. Inquiries were made all along the route of the march for 
General Grant, many persons thinking that he had accompanied the funeral 
party. Secretary Blaine was also an object of marked attention, and ''Where 
is Blaine i"' could be heard at intervals along the line. Most of the floral of- 
ferings which were exhibited in the rotunda of the Capitol were brought here 
and placed about the casket and the catafalque. Shortly after the remains 
were placed on the bier Governor Foster announced, at the request of Mrs. 
Garfield, tha' the coffin would not be opened. The scene throughout the city 
was very fine. Electric lights were numerous, especially about the public 
square, which was perfectly lighted and the casket could be seen from the ad- 
jacent streets. The city was filled with strangers and all tlie hotels and board- 
ing-houses M'ere overcrowded, it being necessary to place cots in the hallways 
to accommodate the arriving guests. The Congressional party were mainly 
quartered at the American Hotel. All the members and immediate relatives 
and friends of the Garfield family were quartered at private residences. Mrs. 
Garfield, ]Mrs. Kockwell, and the daughters of each were at Judge Mason's. 

The last sad rites over the body of the dead President having been per- 
formed, in the presence of a quarter of a million people, the remains were 
conveyed to their final resting-place, at Lake View Cemetery. The services at 
Monumental Square did not begin until sometime after 10 o'clock, and for a 
while great confusion existed on account of the tremendous crowd of people 
blocking up the entrance and iireventing those who were to participate from 
getting to the pavilion. At least one hundred thousand people stood about 
the square watching the obsequies inside, although the sun was intensely hot 
and depressing. Tlie programme was carried out, and the scene was one never 
to be forgotten. Thousands of those present were in tears and exhibited the 
deepest grief as the ceremonies progressed. 



177 

The prayer and the remarks of Rev. Mr. Erret could not be heard by one- 
tenth of those privileged to the inclosure, although perfect silence was main- 
tained. It was sometime after 12 o'clock before the procession started 
from the square tp the cemetery, and many of the societies which had been 
in line since an early hour were completely tired out. 

The first two carriages in the funeral procession contained the family 
Grandma and Mrs. Garfield and children, Miss Mollie. James. Harry, Abram 
and Irving. Following them were Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph, Colonel and Miss 
Lulu Rockwell, General Swaim, Dr. and Mrs. Boynton, Captain and Mrs. 
Henry, Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon, Private Secretary Brown, Mr. Warren Young^ 
and all the members of the Cabinet and their wives. Seats had been provided 
for all these under the pavilion and around the catafalque. Mrs. Garfield 
leaned on the arm of her son Harry, and the aged mother on the arm of James. 
Both were closely veiled, and walked with firm, resolute steps. All the family 
and near friends Avere in their seats before the clergymen arrived, and it was 
then that the governor of the State and a delegation of prominent citizens ar- 
rived. The six miles of Euclid avenue, through which the procession passed, 
were appropriately decorated in a manner becoming the occasion. 

At Mrs. Garfield's suggestion the casket containing th(^, body of the late Pies- 
ident was inclosed in an iron cage, then a cement wall was built around this 
of suflicient strength to resist all attempts to remove the body, and of dimen- 
sions large enough to form the foundation of the proposed monument. The 
mayor of the city detailed a police force to be on duty continually until the 
final interment. 

The first section of the funeral train on the return trip to Washington started 
from Euclid avenue at three minutes past 6 o'clock P. M., September 26, with 
alt the members of the Cabinet, excepting Secretary Blaine, on board. During 
the hours set for the obsequies memorial services were held in every locality 
in Ohio. 

IMPRESSIVE SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE AVORLD. 

Dispatches from all quarters of the globe were of but one import. They 
chronicled impressive funeral services in nearly every churcli of every faith 
throughout the civilized world. Appropriate services were held by all the 
American legations in foreign countries, and there Avere meetings of condo- 
lence in all parts of this country. The day was universally observed every- 
where, and business practically suspended. Mock funerals were held in Chi- 
cago, Xew Orleans, and Jacksonville, Ela. In the former city 12,000 persons 
were in line. A magnificent catafalque Avas drawn by six black horses, fol- 
lowed by an Arabian riderless steed. The death Avas the subject of sympa- 
thetic sermons in nearly all the pulpits of the civilized Avorld. All denomina- 
tions united in the tribute to the character of the man. 

KINDLY EN^GLISH SEl^^TIMENTS. 

The Pall Mall Gazette said: "To-day when England and America stand as 
mourners beside one grave we may venture to hope that the bitter memories 
and dividing animosities engendered by the Revolutionary Avar are finally passed 
aAA^ay; and suggests that England and America shall endeavor to arrange some 
kind of an informal union for the prevention of internecine strife. If an Eu- 
ropean concert, despite almost insurmountable difficulties, is recognized as a 
political necessity, Av^hy should there not be an Anglo-American concert Avide 
enough to include in one fatherland all English-speaking men i* " 

TRIBUTES OF THE PRESS. 

With Mr. Garfield disappears not only an upright man, but, possibly, the entire 
policy of uprightness which he innugursited.— Independence Beige. 

The sentiments of condolence which the royal family have transmitted to Wash- 
ington are the sentiments of the entire Italian nation.— -i^aw/MZo, Borne. 

Though not unexpected, the impression created throughout Europe by the death 
of President Garfield will be profound and universal,— AVrf, JBrussels. 



178 

An innocent victim has been claimed by Moloch. Corruption may warn the 
American people of the necessity of moral regeneration. — Berlin National Zeitung. 

President Garfield's name will shine forth in history with the names of Wash- 
ington and Lincoln, He made the country independent of the dictatorship of 
party. — Berlin Taghlat. 

America should swear at the grave not to rest until the national disgrace — cor- 
ruption — is wiped out. If she does, President Garfield will not have died in vain. — 
Berlin Tribune. 

President Garfield represented tlie fine flower of American citizenship and dis- 
played in himself the highest characteristics of manliness and homely virtue. — 
Pall Mall Gazette. 

America has lost a head of the Government who could be reckoned among the 
most virtuous, and whoso austere integrity and indomitable energy already had a 
deep eflect despite his short term. — Bepublique Francaise. 

President Garfield is a martyr to his endeavors to resist corruption. The crime 
against him has awakened the consciousness that it is the duty of a community to 
struggle against the unbraided self-seeking of individuals. — BerlinPost. 

Our President is dead ! He who was idolized by the people has left us. All, 
without distinction of party, creed, or section, mourn his departure. We can 
find none to fill his place, and our hearts beat with anguish. God may possibly 
forgive the assassin, but the people cannot. — Cleveland Leader. 

The blood of the dead President will, we believe and trust, nourish such hatred 
and horror of the evils out of which its shedding grew, ti at the potency of his 
death may prove, in the providence of God, to be greater than aught which could 
have attended the unflagging and best-directed energies of his life. — New York 
Times. 

A sinister pall hangs over the heads of States. President Garfield has been the 
victim of dark powers which desire the maintenance of a rotten state of afl'airs. 
Germany, remembering when the Emperor William was similarly stricken, can, 
with a fuller heart, ofl"er sincere sympathy to the friendly transatlantic people ui 
their hour of trial. — North German Gazette. 

Whatever policy the President may have mapped out previous to the attempt on 
his life, we believe he would have risen from his bed with his mind free from the 
slightest trace or vestige of partisanship. He could not have ignored the attitude 
of the South. His genial and sympathetic nature would have taken advantage 
of the events of tho past few months, and for the first time in twenty odd years 
we should have had a President in full enjoyment of the confidence and esteem of 
the whole country. — Atlanta Constitution, 

It is in the order of things as prescribed by the Constitution that Vice-President 
Arthur shall assume the Executive functions. He should have the support of the 
American people in a position that will be as full of delicate complications as of 
responsibility. He should not be prejudged, but simply judged as he performs. 
The lesson of this terrible event has been plain enough and kept so long before 
the people that it should have made an impression. Should it be lost, it would be 
the worst featuie of this great calamity. — Boston Post. 

The nation sitting shrouded in awe, covered with blackness as with a garment, 
testifies in the silence of sorrow that a great calamity has fallen upon it. While 
there is no apprehension that the foundations of the Republic will be shaken, or 
that authority and order will not be enforced and preserved, and the vast machi- 
nery of the Government move on without obstruction, tliere is a pervading feeling 
that no hand was worthier to guide it, no mind more highly endowed to direct it, 
than those of the lamented President. — Cincinnati Comm'.rcial. 

The death of President Garfield is regarded as hardly less than a national 
calamity. In all ranks from Queen to peasant, there is the most heartfelt 
sympathy for the bereaved widow and the injured nation. The career of Presi- 
dent Garfield is of tlie kind which appeals to the best feelings and much cherished 
traditions of our people. His early poverty, his manful independence, his hard- 
won attainments, his integrity of character, had all caused his career to be 
watched as that of a man of exceptional powers and brilliant promise. — London 
Times. 



179 

We have come upon the saddest day in the history of this generation. Ours is 
a sorrow to be felt, not told. Tears are flowing, for hearts are breaking with a 
weight of woe. A dear, good friend has passed away ; only his memory is left to 
love. Yet we do not mourn as a nation without consolation. As he lived he 
died, in the saving hope of a glorious resurrection. And for the land of his love 
— in his own patriotic and God-fearing words, spoken in another time of national 
calamity — "God reigns, and the Government at Washington still lives ! " — Phila- 
delphia Press. 

In his death, mournful as It is, the sections will evince a common sympathy 
that may cement more closely the bonds of that fraternity so essential to the 
keeping of the compact between the States. North, South, East, and West 
will join in their grief over the grave of the dead President— a sure sign that 
the currents of the national life flow as strongly as they ever did in the history 
of the Vnion.—Galueston News. 

President Garfield served his country well and faithfully, according to the 
lights his conscience gave him, and will be held in grateful remembrance for 
that service, and for the manifestation of a high purpose, which he has not 
been spared to execute, to rescue the executive oflice from the degraded posi- 
tion into which it had fallen in the hands of his predecessors. — Chicago Times. 

It is also, doubtless, a consolation to those more especially bereaved that 
General Garfield ended his career in the highest public dignity known to the 
people of the United States. He enjoyed the greatest of our civic honors. He 
stood at the summit of political ambition, and with life thus at its fullness, he 
closed his eyes, and the scenes of this world disappeared from before him for- 
ever. — JSfew York Sun. 

• 

The lives of Garfield and of Lincoln will always be linked together in the 
pathetic records of a common tragic fate; but they will also be classed together 
as indications of the type of man that is to be contributed to the drama of our 
nation's history by those divisions of our people that grow up in circumstances 
where they are comparatively unaffected by outside influences. — New York 
Herald. 

Grief for the murdered President must find expression, however inadequate 
words may be to convey all that is felt, and then the nation will move on along 
its career of prosperous growth and development. The motto which we stamped 
upon our coin when the strength of our institutions was tested by the ordeal 
of civil war still voices the assurance of the nation— "In God we trust." — 
Bostmi Journal. 

When the excitement incident to the President's untimely death, however, 
shall have subsided, then will political friends and opponents discuss the record 
he made as legislator and President. History, it is safe to predict, will assign 
him a position among the first civilians of the generation of Americans among 
whom he figured so conspicuously for nearly a quarter of a century. — Richmond 
Dispatch. 

Without exception, every honest and honorable citizen of the nation sin- 
cerely and from the heart deplores the calamity which has befallen us in the 
death of President Garfield. He seemed especially raised up and equipped to 
bring about the greatest results for the good of the nation. Yet, since so it is, 
the country is to be congratulated that his successor is Chester K. Arthur. — 
Indianapolis Journal. 

The nation has lost greater and more beloved sons, warriors and statesmen, 
but it is doubtful if, with the exception of Lincoln, any figure ever passed, 
from our national life around whose memory will cling more tender traditions 
of unmerited suffering and cruel death. But as the stillest forces in nature 
are the strongest, th'^ greatest woe has its expression in tearless self-contain- 
ment. The world will move on to-day and to-morrow^ and forever, while the 
dim eyes of woe look out upon heavens hung in black ; and our free institu- 
tions will endure, chastened and strengthened by the blood of their martyrs, 
while liberty and law shall remain the jewels of the republic. — Philadelphia 
Times. 



180 

James A. Garfield has no faction or party, but a whole people, as his mourn- 
ers. He was President long enough to show the patriotism and the generos- 
ity of his purposes toward the South ; to assert the strength of his cliaracter in 
defense of his prerogatives, and to win the confidence of the people in the hon- 
esty and thoroughness of his methods for reforming abuses in the Government. 
The mistakes which he made were such as were natural to his compliant and 
kindly disposition ; and, while they did not shake the belief in his good inten- 
tions and soundness at heart among those w^ho were disappointed in his action, 
they did cause grave appreliensions for the high and permanent success of his 
administration.— Boston Herahl. 

He is President no more. Only four months he held the helm, but the work 
done in that short time will bless the land for ages. No other administration 
has ever done more for the good of the country than this which had just begun. 
The time has not yet come for a calm and dispassionate review of Garfield's 
acts, nor are the eyes, now dim with tears, able as yet to see all the merit of 
his plans. Those who were close in his counsel will have much to say of the 
noble and lofty aims wliich inspired him, but his fame will not rest upon un- 
realized hope. The cold and passionless|verdict of history, though it may find 
a fault or a flaw, will more than satisfy those who loved James A. Garfield most, 
and will place his name far toward the highest in the list of human rulers.— 
New York Tribune. 

President Garfield was, therefore, the instrument and occasion of a mighty 
work. When he was chosen at Chicago the sinister shadows of sword and 
sceptre faded out of sight. luhis wounding unto death passed away the aliena- ' 
tion, the estrangement, which prevented this country being truly one, although 
men and millions had made it, in appearance indivisible.— C/iarZeston Neivs and 
Courier. * 

He will now always remain one of the saints of American story, without a 
spot on the whiteness of his garments, one of the few Presidents who have left 
the White House amid universal reverence and regret. The last touch was 
given to the pathos of his fate by his dying on the anniversary of whnt was 
perhaps after all the greatest day of his career, that of the batde of Chicka- 
manga. — New York Evening Post. 

General Garfield died as the old Greek wished to die— "while yet gathering 
honors," but he lived long enough to give promise of winning high rauk among 
the able administrators who have preceded him. We recommend to President 
Arthur that lie now adhere to the Garfield policy, and thus perpetuate the 
tranquillity and prosperity which his country enjoyed under that great states- 
man's too-brief administration. — London Globe. 

The great chieftain is no more. The Executive of a great people has been 
ruthlessly stricken down in the moment of his usefulness and in the very hour 
of his fame. Long will he be lamented, long will the atrocity of his fate be 
execrated, and in future times the generations yet to follow will forever link 
the name of Garfield among the brightest and most glorious of the sons and 
rulers of the American Kepublic— C/iicac/o Tribune. 

The sorrow of the nation may be broader, but it cannot be so deep as the 
grief of the woman now left a mourning widow. The heroism and devotion of 
the President's wife has commanded the profound sympathy and admiration of 
the people of the whole country, and now, in the darkest hour of her life, she 
will not be forgotten. Tlie country shares her affliction, but. alas, the whole 
burden of it is Upon her still.— Cincinnati Enquirer. 

Since Prince All)ert's death and the almost fatal illness of the Prince of 
Wales, the heart of the English nation has not been so moved as it is to-day 
over the intelligence that President Garfield is dead. We were all ])roud of 
him. We recognized in him the true patriot, the upright and honest gentle- 
man and tht! brave man. The entire civilized world execrates the crime which 
robbed the American country of a valuable citizen and society of an lumorable 
member. — London IStandard. 



181 

The President is dead, and all the nations responding to that touch of sympathy 
which makes the whole world akhi stand uncovered in the presence of the calam- 
ity, for tragedies, ever calamitou.^, are doubly so when they spring from murder, 
and attach themselves to the head of the state, tlie symbol of power, the represent- 
ative of the people and of law. 

If ever mortal stood in these relations to his country and his time, this man did 
so. It was tiie universal sense that lie did ?o, which brought around his bedside 
his fellow-citizens without distinction of political opinion, and caused women who 
had never seen him to pray for him, and little children, who conceived not the 
emergency nor the magnitude of the contingencies hanging upon his life, to ask 
each day after his well-beina;, as if he were a father, ill and dying in some far-olF 
place. — Louisville Courier Journal. 

But God, who purposes when the sparrow falls, does not lay low a President 
for naught. He has His own providences to work out through this people, to 
whom it has been given so s^ignally to lead the hum.'iu race upward and onward. 
It will remain for this natii^u to sense the profound lesson emblazoned in this ca- 
lamity — the lesson that ambition, greed of place, ana the selfish perversion of gov- 
ernment to the ends of favoritism, and to the degradation of the popular honor, 
must be put under necessary curb and wholesome restraint. Thus taking this 
great lesson to heart, we must so order our institutions and so control the baser 
motives at work in our political system that the historian will be enabled to say 
that James A. Garfield died not in vain, but gave his life for the purifying of our 
administration, for the healing of partisan and sectional animosities, and for the 
strengthening of all the moral purposes of this great people. — Springfield Re- 
publican. 

The uppermost feeling of Englishmen at this critical time will be one of deep 
sympatiiy and condolence with the American people. By common consent Presi- 
dent Garfield's life, which has been passed in full view of the public, has been free 
from spot or blemish. Distinguished in the field, able and upright in civil con- 
duct, he has been a soldier without fear, a citizen without reproach. He has had 
time to show tiiat the hopes entertained of his Presidency were well founded. It 
was felt that the tone of public life would be purified and the standard of effici- 
ency raised, steadily persevering in the disciiarge of every duty, giving some time 
to war, some to politics, some to study, and all to his country ; he has risen from 
the humblest walks of life to fill without exciting envy or surprise the foremost 
post to whic!), with perhaps one exception, any man has been raised by the voice 
of his fellow-citizens. His illness has been like his active life. Supporting his 
suflTerings with patience and fortitude, the knowledge of which happily was not 
confined to the sick room, occupying his few moments of comparative ease in the 
discussion of public affairs, a true patriot and statesman, he has proven himself 
equal to the most terrible strain which human nature can h^ax.— London Daily 
News. 

So much has been said, and so well said, on the tremendous theme of President 
Garfield's death, that it would be difficult to add anything original without run- 
ning into the bizarre or strange. The only relief for pressing public calamities 
like this is to rise to broader views and more sublime emotions. To regard the 
dastard's blow and its ultimate triumph over the long putting forth of the varied 
resources of surgery and the prayers of the whole civilized world as the work of a 
blind chance which might fortuitously have been otherwise, would be intolerable. 
The mind and heart alike recoil from'ihis as a conception too cruel, dark, and pes- 
simistic for humanity to live and keep its reason under. Neither are we necessa- 
rily driven to a conception of a lund of Divine thaumaturgy by which evil is inter- 
cepted and skillfully twisted into purposes of good. If our belief be right, the 
malefactor is not so much fotied as foils himself. The very frame of things is 
against him, and the blow he strikes for harm is changed in the act like the proph- 
et's ban to blessing, or recoils only on himself. Even when the wicked seems to 
grasp the fullest fruits of success he is only '-embracing cloud, Ixion-like." 

On the other hand, it is not well, perhaps, to spy too closely into the purposes 
of Providence in what it does or what it permits. To attempt to weigh the good 
off against the evil which appears might result in setting up our reasons to judge 
whether on the whole evil has not gained the day, a conclusion which we have 



182 

pointed out to be insufferable in its gloom. But it may be allowable to make at 
least one leading reflection, that if the wretched assassin thought to check the best 
work of the late President's ailrainistration and introduce a reactionary regime, 
he has effected just the opposite result. Instead of one Garfield, whose life 
depended on the usual slight chances of mort'ality, he has raised up fifty million 
Garfields, the whole population of the republic bent to see to it that the work of 
the past six months in punishing scoundrels, reforming our dangerous method of 
civil administration, and increasing prosperity and justice, shall be carried on with 
all and more than the vigor with which it was begun. And this is much. There 
is scarcely a great cause in history which has not been consecrated with the blood 
of a martyr, and derived its strength and efficacy therefrom. 

As to the single life which has been sacrificed for many, and those who are so 
deeply and immediately stricken by its loss, little doubtless has or can be said that 
will not sound hollow at such an hour. For one thing, the late President could 
not have fallen at a better time for his honest fame and glory. He did not live to 
drain to the dregs the almost intoxicating cup which life had presented to his lips. 
Not that he himself was unduly elated, for we think that one of the sincerest 
compliments that can be paid to him is on his reasonableness of mind, his capacity 
for looking at things in an enlightened way, and seeing tliem in their true bear- 
ings, which came, doubtless, from the very considerable true culture he had been 
able to give himself. But if life has anything to oft'er to a man to make it worth 
living, the late Chief Magistrate had gained it to the fullest afforded by his day, 
generation, and country. He was snatched from the brightest summit of his 
career, instead of walking down to a grave in its obscure lowlands. Time will 
only embellish with kindly touch what he had already achieved, and ineffably 
exaggerate what might still have been hoped for from him. The frailty of mortal 
power and illusory nature of most objects of ordinary ambition is a lesson too often 
and powerfully preached to need repetition here. The lessons to be drawn from 
Garfield's life are more elevating— that what best befit a man in any station where 
duty may lead him are the virtues of fortitude, resignation, and calmness, since in 
the hour of victory evil may be so near, while in the hour of evil the highest good 
is always at hand. 



PART 111 



LIFE OF CHESTER ALLAN ARTHUR, TWENTY-FIRST 
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 



CHAPTER I. 
EARLY LIFE. 

Chester Al/an Arthur, the son of an Irishman named William Arthur, was born 
in Fairfield, Vermont, on the 5th of October, 1830, After the customary New 
England schooling he entered Union College, in Schenectady, in 1845, and was 
graduated high up on the list four years later. Like his predecessor, Mr. Arthur 
supported himself while in college, and served his apprenticeship in the humble 
inclosnre of a country school-house. After two years in a law school and a brief 
service as principal of the North Pownal Academy, in Vermont, Mr. Arthur came 
to New York and entered the law firm of Culver, Paisten & Arthur, after which, 
and until 1865, he was associated here with Mr. Henry D. Gardner. The law 
career of Mr. Arthur includes some notable cases. One of liis first cases was the 
celebrated Lemmon suit. In 1852 Jonathan and Juliet Lemraon, Virginia slave- 
holders, intending to emigrate to Texas, came to New York to await the sailing of 
a steamer, bringing eight slaves with them. A writ of habeas corpus was obtained 
from Judge Paine to test the question whether the provisions of the fugitive slave 
law was in force in that State. Judge Paine rendered a decision holding that they 
were not, and ordered the Lemmon slaves to be liberated. Henry L. Clinton was 
one of the counsel for the slaveholders. A howl of rage went up from the South, 
and the Virginia legislature authorized the Attorney-General of that State to assist 
in taking an appeal. William M. Evarts and Chester A. Arthur were employed 
to represent the people, and they won their case, which then went to the Supreme 
Court of the United States. Charles O'Connor here espoused the cause of the 
slaveholders, but he, too, was beaten by Messrs. Evarts and Arthur, and a long 
step was taken toward the emancipation of the black race. Following this came 
the street-car discourtesies, which Mr. Arthur put a stop to in a legal and definitive 
way. On the Sixth avenue and one or two other lines conveyances labelled "Col- 
ored persons allowed in this car" were run at long intervals, but on the Fourth 
avenue and other east side lines not even this provision was made. Under these 
circumstances Lizzie Jennings, a respectable colored woman, neatly dressed, 
cleanly and of good appearance, the superintendent of a colored Sunday school, 
hailed a Fourth avenue ear and succeeded in obtaining a seat in it. The conductor 
took her fare, thereby tacitly admitting her right to be a passenger, but hardly had 
he done so when a drunken white rufiian, who was seated in the car, demanded, 
" Are you going to let that — nigger ride in this car?" 

"Oh, I guess it won't make any difference," said the conductor. 

" Yes, but it will," repRed the other ; " I have paid my fare and I want a decent 
ride, and I tell you you've got to put her out." 

Thus appealed to the conductor went to the colored woman and asked her to 
leave the car. She refused to do so. The car was stopped. The conductor 
attempted to eject her by force. She resisted bravely, crying all the time: "I 
have paid my fare and am entitled to ride." 

Her dress was almost torn from her back. Strong men stood by, but gave 
her no assistance. Still she fought bravely for Avhat she believed to be her 
right. The conductor could not eject her, and was compelled to call for the 
aid of the police. By their efforts the woman was dragged from the car. 



184 

The matter coming to the notice of a number of influential colored people, 
they desired to make it a test case and applied to Mr. Arthur for advice. He 
at once espoused their cause and took their case before Justice Rockwell, in 
Brooklyn. When the trial came on the court-room was crowded almost to suf- 
focation, and at one time serious trouble was threatened by those who believed 
that to seek justice for one of the black race was to do injustice to humanity. 

Even the Judge seemed to share this opinion, for when the attorney handed 
him the papers in the case he threw them upon the desk, with the exclama- 
tion: — 

"Pshaw ! do you ask me to try a case against a corporation for the tort (the 
wrongful act) of its agent? " 

In reply to this Mr. Arthur plainly pointed out a portion of the Eevised 
Statutes under which there was an undoubted right of action. After examin- 
ing it the court concurred cordially with the counsel, the case was tried, and, 
much to the delight of the colored people, a verdict of .$500 was rendered in 
favor of the plaintiff. The railroad company paid the judgment without fur- 
ther contest, and at once issued orders that thereafter colored people be al- 
lowed to ride upon its cars. Similar action was soon after taken by all the city 
railroad companies. At this there was great rejoicing among all the negroes 
in New York, the Colored People's Legal Rights Association was established, 
and for many years afterward with much ceremony celebrated the anniversary 
of the trial which resulted as described. 



CHAPTER II. 

ARTHUR IN THE WAR. 

At the outbreak of the war Governor Morgan appointed Mr. Arthur engineer- 
in-chief, then inspector-general, and in January, 1862, quartermaster-general. 
No higher encomi um can be passed upon him than the mention of the fact, 
that, although the war account of the State of New York was at least ten 
times larger tlian that of any other State, yet it was the first audited and al- 
lowed in Washington, and without the deduction of a single dollar, while the 
quartermasters' accounts from other States were reduced from ^1,000,000 to 
^10,000,000. Diiring his incumbency every present sent to him was immedi- 
ately returned. Among others a prominent clothing-house offered him a mag- 
nificent uniform, and a printing-house proffered a costly saddle and trappings. 
Both gifts were in<lignantly rejected. When he became quartermaster he was 
poor. When his terra expired he was poorer still. He had opportunities to 
make millions unquestioned. Contracts larger than the world had ever seen 
were at his disposal. He had to provide for the clothing, arming and trans.- 
portation of hundreds of thousands of men. So jealous was he of his integ- 
rity that contracts where he could have made thousands of dollars legitimately 
were refused on the ground that he was a public officer and meant to be, like 
Caesar's wife, above suspicion. His own words in regard to this amply illus- 
trate his character:—" If I misappropriated a cent and in walking down town 
saw two men talking on the corner together I would imagine that they were 
talking of my dishonesty, and the very thought would drive me mad." In July, 
1862, he was invited to be present at a secret meeting of the loyal G-overnors, 
held in New York, for discussing measures to provide troo])s to carry on the 
war. He was the only person present who v/as not a Governor, but his counsel 
and advice were none the less heeded on that account. Everything at that time 
was topsy turvy and everybody upside down. One of the best illustratic?'? of 
the lack of management, and haphazard fashion of transacting important State 
business, whicli prevailed during the early days of the war, is to be found in 
the manner in which the Ellsworth Zouaves were equipped and left New York 
The regiment in question was made up of men wlio prided themselves upon 
their strength, drill and daring. It was, so to speak, an army unto itself, find, 
under the independent system of organization already explained, comprised 
not only a full complement of infantry companies, but also a battery of light 




Chester Allan Arthur. 



187 

artillery, and a troop of cavalry. All the infantry eompanies were not only 
armed differently, as they desired, but they contained, inisome cases, one hun- 
dred and twenty men, or fifty more than was, at the time, the regulation com- 
plement. So arnied, about one thousand three hundred men in all, they were 
on their way down Broadway, after having received, amid great enthusiasm, a 
stand of colors, when orders were received through General Arthur from the 
War Department at Washington to the effect that the regiment could not be 
mustered into the service, or leave the city until it had reduced and equal- 
ized its companies. 

In pursuance of this command General Arthur, acting as quartermaster-general, 
issued instructions countermanding his original order for furnishing tiie troops 
with supplies while en route Irom New York to the South. Tlie officers of the 
regiment, however, paid no attention to the order from Washington further than 
to beg General Wool, the United States commandant, to rescind it. To tlieir peti- 
tion was added that of many influential citizens and ladies. General Wool gave 
the necessary permission, the regiment marched on board the troop ship, and 
it steamed down the harbor. 

Of this occurrence the Quartermaster-General was not informed for nearly an 
hour after the sailing of the ship. Then an officer came into his headquarters and 
said, casually : 

"Well, the Fii'emen Zouaves have got off at last." 

"Got off !" cried Arthur, in astonishment, "that's not possible. Orders have 
been received from Washington forbidding them to leave, and there is not a pound 
of provisions of any sort on the troop ship." 

This was only too true. The regiment had actually put to sea without food 
sufficient for one man for a day. But the Quartermaster-General was equal to the 
emergency. In fifteen minutes he put himself in communication with an exten- 
sive contractor, made him an allowance of fifteen cents extra for each ration, and 
ordered him to liire every tug he could lay hands on, secure rations for 1,300 men 
for 5 days, and hurry down the bay after the transport. This was done, and the 
troop ship, the officers of which had discovered the condition of their larder, hav- 
ing stopped on the way, was overtaken at the Narrows. The supplies were put 
on board and the same night the regiment was at last "off to the seat of war." 

In tlie present days of peace and prosperity very few people realize that the 
city of Kew York, in the spring of 1862, was threatened Avith total destruction. 
One Sunday morning during the period in question General Gustavis Loomis, 
who was then the oldest infantry officer in the United States regular service, 
flashed and out of breath, hurried into the Inspector-General's Office, then oc- 
cupied by Chester A. Arthur. For a moment he was unable to speak, and Ar- 
thur, offering him a chair, asked: 

"What in the world has happened. General?" 

"The rebel ram Merrimac ! the rebel ram Merrimac !" incoherently gasped 
the other. 

"Well, what about her ?" 

"I have a dispatch from General McClelhm that she has sunk two United 
States ships— that she is coming to New York to shell the city — may be ex- 
pected at any moment— I am so much out of breath running to tell you the 
news I can hardly speak." 

"Running to tell me the news !" exclaimed Arthur. "Why in heaven didn't 
you hire a carriage ?'' 

"Hire a carriage !" replied the old army officer, lifting his hands in amaze- 
ment ; "hire a carriage ! why, that would cost me ^2.50. I can't afford to 
spend so much out of my own pocket, and if I made sucli an expenditure on- 
account of the Government it would take all the rest of my official life to ex- 
plain why I did so." 

There was very much more truth than poetry in the latter part of old Gen- 
eral Loomis' remark. In those early days of the war it is a matter of record 
that an expenditure of $2.50 by an army officer for an irregular purpose, of no 
matter what character and involving no matter what momentous results, 
would have furnished months of employment to half a dozen clerks in the 
War Department. 

The State officers were not so bound by red tape, and when, in addition to 
his first communication, General Loomis informed General Arthur that 
McCleUan had ordered him to place his shore batteries in position and send 



188 

vessels to the Lower Bay to watcli for the appearance of the enemy, the latter 
lost no time in sending dozens of messengers in carriages in all directions to 
see that the order was carried out. 

Unfortunately, liowever, prompt action on the part of the Inspector-Gen- 
eral availed but little, for it was soon discovered that New York, for all prac- 
tical purposes, was absolutely defenseless against such a naval monster as the 
Merrimac. The "shore batteries" spoken of by General McClellan in his 
dispatch did not exist. There were no heavy cannon in position on the so- 
called fortifications, and nearly all the cannon in the defenses at the Narrows 
were marked "Shell guns," indicating that they could not be used to throw 
solid shot, and, as Loomis assured the Inspector-General, even for these guns 
there were not two rounds of powder in the harbor magazines. To remedy 
this alarming condition of things General Arthur set to work with every pos- 
sible energy. All the available militia companies were put into the harbor 
forts, and a powder schooner arriving providentially from Connecticut ample 
ammunition was soon served out. Luckily, as the event proved, all these pre- 
cautions were unnecessary, for a few hours after the arrival of the first alarm- 
ing news— news which never reached the general public, which on that bright 
spring Sunday was represented by crowds of well dressed-people on the princi- 
pal avenues— General Arthur received a dispatch from General McClellan tell- 
ing him tliat the Merrimac had been sunk by the Monitor, and that the danger 
to New York was passed. 

At the end of Governor Morgan's term General Arthur returned to his law 
practice, and lucrative business soon poured in. Much of this work consisted 
in the collection of war claims and the drafting of important bills for speedy 
legislation. He was also counsel to the Tax Commission, with a salary of 
^10,000. In 1871 he formed the firm of Arthur, Phelps, Knevals & Kansom, 



CHAPTER III. 
HIS POLITICAL CAEEEB. 

General Arthur had not been able to keep himself altogether out of politics. 
Notwithstanding his retirement from office and engrossment in the duties of 
his profession, he constantly found time and inclination to participate in the 
movements of local and State politics, and to promote the interests of the Ee- 
publican party. 

Mr. Arthur always took an interest in politics and the political surround- 
ings of his day. His political life began at the age of fourteen as a champion 
of the Whig party. He shared, too, in the turbulence of political life at that 
period, and it is related of him during the Polk-Clay canvass that, while he 
and some of his companions were raising an ash pole in honor of Henry Clay, 
some Democratic boys attacked the party of Whigs, and young Arthur, wlio was 
the recognized leader of tlie party, ordered a charge, and, taking the front rank 
himself , drove the young Democrats from the field with broken heads and sub- 
dued spirits. He was a delegate to the Saratoga convention that founded the 
Eepublican party in New York State. He was active in local politics, and he 
gradually became one of the leaders. He nominated and by his efforts elected 
Mr. Thomas Murphy a State senator. When the latter resigned the collector- 
ship of the port of New York in November, 1871, General Arthur was nomi- 
nated by President Grant to the vacancy. The nomination came to him as a 
great surprise. The post was offered to ex-Congressman John A. Griswold, 
of Troy, and, on his declining, to William Orton, who also declined. They 
both joined in recommending General Arthur. He was appointed November 
20. Upon the expiration of his four years' term he had so acceptably filled the 
post that he was reappointed and unanimously confirmed by the Senate with- 
out the usual reference to a committee— a compliment usually reserved for ex- 
Senators. He was removed by President Hayes on July 12, 1878, despite the 
fact that two special committees made searching investigations into his ad- 
ministration, and both reported themselves unable to find anything upon which 
to base a charge against him. In their pronunciamentos announcing the 



189 

change both President Hayes and Secretary Sherman bore official witness to 
the purity of his acts while in office. A petition for his retention was signed 
by every judge of every court in the city, by all the prominent members of the 
bar, and by nearly every important merchant in the collection district, but this 
General Arthur himself suppressed. 

In a letter to Secretary Sherman, reviewing the work of one of the investi- 
gating committees, General Arthur produced statistics to show that during 
his term of over six years in office the percentage of removals was only two and 
three-quarters, against an annual average of about twenty-eight per cent, under 
his three immediate predecessors, and an annual average of about twenty-four 
per cent, since 1857. The nomination for the Vice-Presidency on the Garfield 
ticket was made in the evening session of June 10, 1880. Following the suc- 
cess of his ticket in the fall of 1880, General Arthur was sworn in and took his 
seat as presiding officer in the Senate on the 4th of March, 1881. His bearing 
produced a pronounced impression, and during the exciting scenes that fol- 
lowed the dignity of his manner and the fairness of his rulings won him the 
regard and admiration of the entire body. As a devoted friend of Senator 
Conkliug General Arthur took great interest and an active part in the Sena- 
torial contest at Albany, and it was at the close of a peculiarly taxing week of 
work in his friend's interest that he was informed of the deplorable event that 
opened the door to his own promotion. 

General Chester A. Arthur was nominated as an act of conciliation to the sup- 
porters of General Grant, for an office which he had not sought, desired or 
expected. Reluctantly and only for the purpose of promoting harmony in his 
party, he accepted tlie post assigned him. 

As the candidate for President was in the prime of vigorous manhood, with 
strongest promise of many active years, the sad contingency which has now 
arisen was contemplated only as a possibility too remote to influence the selection 
of his associate on the ticket. Neither General Arthur nor those who voted for 
him supposed for a moment that if his party carried the election he would be 
called to any responsibility more serious than the light and graceful part which 
oui fundamental law assigns to the Vice-President. 

But when the news of the attack upon the President horrified the country and 
shocked the civilized world, General Arthur and the people of the United States 
were suddenly and. «harply brought to a realization of the fact that only a faint 
and tremulous spark in the White House stood between the Vice-President and 
the Presidential office. 

At that time the dominant party, split into belligerent factions, was in the 
midst of a protriicted and acrimonious strusfgle, centering at Albany, but exerting 
its unhappy influence in every part of the United States. As General Arthur was 
allied with the faction opposed to the administration, the prospect of the radical 
change that then seemed imminent intensified the excitement that, under any 
circumstances, would have been sufficiently deep, and added bitterness to a feeling 
that needed no increased acerbity. 

In that trying hour General Arthur bore himself with a quiet, manly dignity 
that won the respect of the country. He seemed to dread the weight of care and 
responsibility which appeared so likely to be imperatively forced upon him, but 
was evidently prepared to do his duty with fidelity if summoned to the head of 
the Government. 

Happily for us, our fathers wrought too well that a change in the Presidency, 
however sudden, however tragic, however sad, cannot affect the stability of the 
Government, or throw any portion of its well-ordered mechanism into confu- 
sion. Such a contingency as the mournful event which has now occurred was 
amply provided for in the Constitution. A death like this touches the deep-st 
emotions of our hearts, but it cannot disturb our domestic tranquillity nor com- 
plicate our relations with other powers. 

The political significance of this change resides alone in the fact that it brings 
into power the faction opposed to the administration of the late President. 
There has been time enough since tne 2d of last month for passion to cool, and 
for the better nature of the partisan to assert its sway. While the nation has 
been standing around the death-bed of the President, it is hoped that hatred, 
malice, and all uncharitableness liave been permitted to die out of the hearts 
of those statesmen who are recognized as leaders of t le respective Republican 
factions. 



190 

Will the war of the factions be revived, or will their leaders arrange terms of 
final and permanent pacification? These are the questions that are anxiously 
asked, and for which there is, as yet, no answer. If we could desire the suc- 
cess of the Democratic party at any cost, if we deemed a Democratic triumph 
of more importance than that prosperity which depends on political peace, if 
we were more partisan and less patriotic in our feelings, we should hope for 
speedy renewal and vigorous prosecution of the factional war. 

But the country has had enough— too much by far— of the unhealthy excite- 
ment which this feud begets. General Arthur has an opportunity to serve his 
country as to win enduring fame and the respect of all good men. He can do 
this by so administering his great office as shall tend to the promotion of peace. 
It is possible for him to bring the discordant elements of his party into har- 
mony, and thus to give the country that quiet, that rest from turmoil which 
our business, social and moral interests demand. 

Coming hito power under circumstances so peculiar, under cireumstances that 
appeal so strongly to all the finer feelings and better impulses, it is not likely that 
Mr. Arthur will signalize his advent by sudden and startling innovations. While 
it may fairly be assumed that his principal subordinates will eventually be of his 
own wing of the Republican party, he is unlikely to act hastily or to make remov- 
als for the mere purpose of showing that things are changed. 

The great conservative element of the body politic, the Democratic half of the 
people, sustained President Garfield, because patriotic duty demanded such sup- 
port. President Arthur has it in his power to command the respect and secure 
the confidence of the Democracy by adopting a broadly national policy. If he 
shall be the President, not of a faction, not of a party, but of all the people, aim- 
ing to do justice and to promote the best good of his country, he will not find the 
Democracy placing any obstacles in his pathway or refusing him that approval 
and commendation which he will merit at their hands. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE VICE-PRESIDENT INFORMED AND ASKED TO REPAIR TO 

LONG BRANCH. 

September 20. — Last night a little after midnight, the following dispatch 
was sent from Long Branch to Vice-President Arthur : " It becomes our painful 
duty to inform you of tlie death of President Garfield and to advise you to take 
the oath of office as President of the United States without delay. If it concurs 
with your judgment, we will be very glad if you will come here on the earliest 
train to-morrow. Signed by William Windom, Secretary of the Treasury ; 
William H. Hunt, Secretary of the Navy ; Thomas L. James, Postmaster-Gene- 
ral ; Wayne MacVeagh, Attorney-General ; S. J. Kirkwood, Secretary of the In- 
terior." 

The following telegram was received by Attorney General MacVeagh : 

New York, September 19. 

Hon. Wayne MaoVeagh, Attorney-General^ Long Branch: 

I have your telegram and tlie intelligence fills me with profound sorrow. Ex- 
press to Mrs. Garfield my deepest sympathy. 

Chester A. Arthur. 

New York, September 20. — The Sun extra says : General Arthur was sworn 
in at a quarter-past 2 o'clock this morning at bis house. Two judges of the New 
York supreme court had been sent for — J. R. Brady and Charles Donohue. Judge 
Brady arrived with Messrs. Rollins and Root at ten minutes before 2, but the cere- 
mony was out of courtesy deferred until Judue Donohue's arrival at a lictle after 2 
o'clock with ex-Commissioner French. Judge Brady stood On the other side of 
the table facing General Arthur. Grouped around the two men were Judge Don- 
ohue, Eli Root, Commissioner French and Daniel G. Rollins, and General Arthur's 
son. Judge Bradv slowly advanced a step and raised his right hand ; Genera 
Arthur did likewise. A moment of impressive silence followed. General Arthur' 



191 

features were almost fixed. Then Judge Brady administered the oath, General 
Arthur speaking in a clear ringing voice : 

" I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the 
United States, and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the 
Constitution of the United States." 

After this he remained standing a moment longer, his hand still raised. No 
one spoke, nor did the President afterwards give expression to any emotion. 

After taking the oath President Arthur telegraphed as follows : 

New York, September 2Q. — I have your message announcing the death of Presi- 
dent Garfield. Permit me to renew through you the expression of sorrow and_„,,^ 
sympathy which I have already telegraphed to Attorney-General McVeagh. Ta / 
accordance with your suggestion I have taken the oath of office as President, before / 
the Hon. John R. Brady, Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York. / 
I will soon advise you further- in regard to the other suggestions in your telegram. J 

C. A. Arthur. ^,-^ 



CHAPTER V. 

PEESIDENT CHESTER A. ARTHUR'S LETTER OF ACCEPTANCE 
AS THE NOMINEE OF THE NATIONAL REPUBLICAN CONVEN- 
TION AT CHICAGO, JUNE 2, 1880, FOR THE POSITION OF VICE- 
PRESIDENT ON ITS TICKET. 

The following is the text of General Arthur's letter of acceptance : 
New York, July 15, 1880. — Dear Sir: I accept the position assigned me by 
the great party whose action you announce. This acceptance implies approval 
of the principles declared by the convention, but recent usage permits me to 
add some expression of my own views. The right and duty to secure honesty 
and order in popular elections is a matter so vital that it must stand in front. 
The authority of the National Government to preserve from fraud and force 
elections at which its officers are chosen is a chief point on which the two par- 
ties are plainly and intensely opposed. Acts of Congress for ten years have, in 
New York and elsewhere, done much to curb the violence and wrong to which 
the ballot and the count have been again and again subjected, sometimes de- 
spoiling great cities, sometimes stifling the voice of a whole State, often seat- 
ing, not only in Congress, but on the bench and in legislatures, numbers of men 
never chosen by the people. The Democratic party since gaining possession 
of the two houses of Congress has made these just laws the object of bitter, 
ceaseless assault, and despite all resistance has hedged them with restrictions 
cunningly contrived to baffle and paralyze them. This aggressive majority 
boldly attempted to extort from the Executive his approval of various enact- 
ments destructive of these election laws by revolutionary threats that a con- 
stitutional exercise of the veto power would be punished by withholding the 
appropriations necessary to carry on the Government. And these threats 
were actually carried out by refusing the needed appropriations, and by forcing • 
an extra session of Congress, lasting for months, and resulting in concessions 
to this usurping demand which are likely, in many States, to subject the ma- 
jority to the lawless will of the minority. Ominous signs of public disapproval 
alone subdued the arrogant power into a sullen surrender, for the time being, 
of a part of its demands. The Republican party has strongly approved the 
stem refusal of its representatives to suffer the overthrow of statutes believed 
to be salutary and just. It has always insisted, and now insists, that the Gov- 
ernment of the United States of America is empowered and in duty bound to 
effectually protect the elections denoted by the Constitution as national. 

More than this, the Republican party holds, as a cardinal point in its creed, that 
the (^overnmentf should, by every means known to the Constitution, protect all 
American citizens everywhere in the full enjoyment of their civil and political 
rights. As a great part of its work of reconstruction the Republican party gave 
the ballot to the emancipated slave as his right and defence. A large increase in 



192 

the number of members of Congress, and of the electoral college, from the former 
slave-holding States, was the immediate result. The history of recent years 
abounds in evidence that in many ways and in many places — especially where 
their number has been great enough to endanger Democratic control — the very 
men by whose elevation to citizenship this increase of representation was effected 
have been debarred and robbed of their voice and their vote. It is true that no state 
statute or constitution in so many words denies or abridges the exercise of their 
political rights ; but the modes employed to bar their way are no less effectual. 
It is a suggestive and startling thought that tlie increased power derived from the 
enfranchisement of a race now denied its share in governiog the country — wielded 
by those who lately souglit the overthrow of the Government — is now the sole re- 
liance to defeat the party which represented the sovereignty and nationality of the 
American people in the greatest crisis of our history. Republicans cherish none 
of the resentments which may have animated them during the actual conflict of 
arms. They long for a full and real reconciliation between the sections which 
were needlessly and lamentably at strife ; they sincerely offer tlie hand of good 
will, but they ask in return a pledge of good faith. They deeply feel that the 
party, whose career is so illustrious in great and patriotic achievements, will not 
fulfill its destiny until peace and prosperity are established in all the land, nor 
until liberty of thought, conscience and action, and equality of opportunity shall 
be not merely cold formalities of statute, but living birthrights, which the humble 
may confidently claim and the powerful dare not deny. 

The resolution referring to the public service seems to me deserving of approval. 
Surely, no man should be the incumbent of an office the duties of which he is, for 
any cause, unfit to perform, who is lacking in the ability, fidelity or integrity 
which a proper administration of such office demands. The sentiment would 
doubtless meet with general acquiescence, but opinion has been widely divided 
.upon the wisdom and practicability of the various reformatory schemes which have 
been suggested, and of certain proposed regulations governing appointments to 
public office. The efficiency of such regulations have been distrusted, mainly be- 
cause they have seemed to exalt mere educational and abstract tests above general 
business capacity, and even special fitness for the particular work in hand. It 
seems to me that the rules which should be applied to tlie management of the 
public service may properly conform, in the main, to such as regulate the con- 
duct of successful private business. Original appointments should be based upon 
ascertained fitness. The tenure of office should be stable. Positions of responsi- 
bility should, as far as practicable, be filled by the promotion of worthy and effi- 
cient officers. The investigation of all complaints, and the punishment of all offi- 
cial misconduct, should be prompt and thorough. These views, which I have long 
held, repeatedly declared and uniformly applied whe,n called to act, I find embod- 
ied in the resolution, which, of course, I approve. 1 Will add that, by the accept- 
ance of public office, whether high or low, one does not, in my judgment, escape 
any of his responsibilities as a citizen, or lose or impair any of his rights as a citi- 
zen, and that he should enjoy absolute liberty to think and speak and act in polit- 
ical matters according to his own will and conscience, provided only that he hon- 
orably, faithfully and fully discharges all his official duties. 

The resumption of specie payments — one of the fruits of the Republican policy 
— has brought the return of abundant prosperity and the settlement of many dis- 
tracting questions. The restoration of sound money, the large reduction of our 
public debt and of the burden of interest, the high advancement of the public 
credit, all attest the ability and courage of the Republican party to deal witli such 
financial problems as may hereafter demand solution. Our paper currency is now 
as good as gold, and silver is performing its legitimate function for the purpose of 
change. The principles which should govern the relations of these elements of 
the currency are simple and clear. There must be no deteriorated coin, no depre- 
ciated paper. And every dollar, whether of metal or paper, should stand the 
test of the world's fixed standard. ^ 

The value of popular education can hardly be overstated. Although its inter- 
ests must of necessity be chiefly confided to voluntary effort and the nidividual 
action of tlie several States, they should be encouraged so far as the Constitution 
permits, by the generous co-operation of the National Government. The intciests 
of the whole country demand that tlie advantages of our common school system 
should be brought within the reach of every citizen, and that no revenue of the 
nation or of the State should be devoted to the support of sectarian schools. 



193 

Such changes should be made in the present tariff and system of taxation as will 
relieve any overburdened industry or class, and enable our manufacturers and 
artisans to compete successfully with those of other lands. 

The Government [should aid works of internal improvement, national in their 
character, and should promote the development of our water-courses and harbors 
wherever the general interests of commerce recxuire. 

Four years ago, as now, the nation stood at the threshold of a Presidential 
election, and the Republican party, in soliciting a continuance of its ascendancy, 
founded its hopes of success, not upon its promises, but upon its history. Its sub- 
sequent course has been such as to strengthen the claims which it then made upon 
the confidence and support of the country. On the other hand, considerations 
more urgent than have ever before existed forbid the accession of its opponents to 
power. Tlieir success. If success attends them, must chiefly come from the united 
support of that section which sought the forcible disruption of the Union, and 
which, according to all the teachings of our past history, will demand ascendancy 
in the councils of the party to whose triumph ic will have made by far the largest 
contribution. 

There is the gravest reason for apprehension that exorbitant claims upon the 
public Treasury, by no means limited to the hundreds of millions already covered 
by bills introduced in Congress within the past four years, would be successfully 
urged if the Democratic party should succeed in supplementing its present con- 
trol of the national legislature by electing the Executive also. 

There is danger in entrusting the control of the whole law-making power of 
the Government to a party which has in almost every Southern State repudiated 
obligations quite as sacred as those to which the faith of the nation now stands 

pledged. v. ,. -i. 

I do not doubt that success awaits the Republican party, and that its 

triumph will assure a just, economical, and patriotic administration. 
I am respectfully your obedient servant, C. A, Arthur. 

To the Hon. George, F, Hoar, President of the Republican National Conven- 
tion. 

A REMARKABLE- COINCIDENCE— HOW GENERALS GARFIELD AND 
ARTHUR STARTED LIFE IN THE SAME ROOM. 

Washington, June 10.— A correspondent of the Evening Star communicates 
to that journal the following interesting reminiscence of the early life of Generals 
Garfield and Arthur, the Republican candidates for President and Vice-President : 
"North Pownal, Bennington county, Vermont, formerly known as Whipple's 
Corners, is situated in the southwestern corner of the State, and by the usually 
traveled road is an hour's ride from New York, through the corner of Vermont, 
by way of North Pownal, into the State of Massachusetts. In 1851, Chester A. 
Arthur, fresh from Union College, came to North Pownal, and for one summer 
taught the village school. About two years later James A. Garfield, then a young 
student at Williams College, several miles distant, in order to obtain the necessary 
means to defray tlie expenses while pursuing his studies, came to North Pownal 
and established a writing school in the same room formerly occupied by Mr. 
Arthur, and taught classes in penmanship during the long winter evenings. Thus, 
from a common starting point in early life, after a lapse of more than a quarter of 
a century, after years of manly toil, these distinguished men are, by the action of 
the Chicago convention, brought into a close relationship before the nation and 
before the civilized world." 



194 



CHAPTER VI. 

THE NEW EXECUTIVE— HE IS FORMALLY SWORN IN —THE CERE- 
MONY AT THE CAPITOL.— HIS INAUGURAL ADDRESS. 

September 22.— President Arthur was up at 7 o'clock this morning and 
breakfasted at 8 with his host, Senator Jones. About 9 quite a number of car- 
riages had brouglit callers to the liouse, and were drawn up at the curb. All of 
the Cabinet called, Secretary Blaine being the first to arrive. Quite a number of 
Senators and members also paid their respects to the President. From 9 until 
half -past eleven the President's rooms were crowded. 

At about quarter before twelve, accompanied by Senator Jones and General 
Grant, President Arthur was driven to the Capitol, and alighted at the Senate 
wing of the east front. He quickly entered the building by the basement door, 
and proceeded thence to his old room, the Vice-President's room in the rear of 
the Senate lobby. Soon quite a number of Senators, the members of the Cabinet, 
and others distinguished in public life entered tlie room. Then it became noised 
about that the oath of the presidential office was again to be administered. 

It was ten minutes after twelve when Cliief-Justice Waite and Justices Harlan 
and Matthews entered the room. The Chief Justice was clad in the robes of his 
office. Clerk McKinney had with him a small Bible. Simultaneous with the 
arrival of the Chief Justice there was profound silence. With some seeming 
trepidation, as if unacquainted personally with the new President, the Chief- 
Justice advanced and extended his hand. It was taken and given a most cordial 
greeting. Thp.n Clerk McKinney advanced, opened the Bible hap-hazard and 
held it to the President. He laid his hand upon it, when the Chief Justice, with 
due solemnity, administered the oath. It was simple and short. It merely con- 
sisted of an obligation to faithfully administer the high office to which he had been 
called. As the President kissed the book he said, in clear notes, "So help me 
God." 

Tlie scene when the oath was taken was impressive in the extreme. At the 
right of the President stood Senator Jones and Speaker Leo Sharpe of New 
York. Ex-President Hayes was a conspicuous figure, well on the foreground, 
with General Grant but a few «teps behind. All of the Cabinet was present. 
Of the Senators there were present Messrs. Hale, Jones, Sherman, Blair, Garland, 
Jones, Dawes, Anthony, and Representatives Hiscock, Errett, McCook, Town- 
send and others. After the President had taken the oath, he drew from his coat 
pocket the manuscript of an inaugural, which he delivered as follows : 

For the fourth time in the history of the Republic its chief magistrate has been 
removed by death. All hearts are filled with grief and horror at tlie hideous crime 
which has darkened our land ; and the memory of the mui'dered President, his 
protracted sufterings, his unyielding fortitude, the example and achievements of 
his life and the pathos of his death will forever illumine the pages of our history. 
For the fourth time the officer elected by the people and ordained by the Constitu- 
tion to fill a vacancy so created is called to assume the executive chair. Tiie wis- 
dom of our fathers foreseeing even the most dire possibilities, made sure that the 
Government should Biever be imperilled because of the uncertainty bf human life. 
Men may die, but the fabrics of our free institutions remain unsliaken. 

No higher or more assuring proof could exist of the strength and permanence 
of popular Government than the fact that though the chosen of the people be 
struck down his constitutional successor is peacefully installed without shock or 
strain except the sorrow which mourns the bereavement. All the noble aspirations 
of my lamented predecessor which found expression in his life, the measures 
devised and suggested during his brief administration to correct abuses and enforce 
economy; to advance prosperity and promote the general welfare; to ensure 
domestic security and maintain friendly and honorable relations with the nations 
of the earth will be garnered in the hearts of the people, and it will be my earnest 
endeavor to profit and to see that the nation shall profit by his example and expe- 
rience. Prosperity blesses our country, our fiscal policy is fixed by law, is well 
grounded and generally approved. 

No threatening issue mars our foreign intercourse and the wisdom, integrity 
and thrift of our people may be trusted to continue undisturbed the present 



195 

assured career of peace, tranquillity and welfare. The gloom and anxiety which 
have enshrouded the country, must make repose especially welcome now. No 
demand for speedy legislation has been heard. No adequate occasion is apparent 
for an unusual session of Congress. The Constitution defines the functions and 
powers of the executive as clearly as those of either of the other two departments 
of the Government, and he must answer for the just exercise of the discretion it 
permits and the performance of duties it imposes. Summoned to these high duties 
and responsibilities and profoundly conscious of their magnitude and gravity, I 
assume the trust imposed by the Constitution, relying for aid on Divine guidance 
and the virtue, patriotism and intelligence of the American people. 

The delivery was with considerable feeling. The President, however, did not 
betray the least excitement or agitation. The ceremony over he received the 
congratulations of those in the room. Secretary Blaine was the first. Senator 
Jones the second, and General Grant the third to advance, then the Cabinet, then 
ex-President Hayes and the others in the room. Ex-Speaker Randall came into 
the room after the ceremony was over. 

The President will for the present remain at the residence of Senator Jones. 
He will not accompany the ex-President's remains to Cleveland. 

HOW THE PRESIDENT APPEARED. 

The President was dressed with his usual care. He wore a black suit, but 
after modern fashion, the coat having a long skirt. Instead of a scarf, which 
he usually wears about his neck, he had on a plain black tie. The congratu- 
lations well over, the President retired to the alcove formed by the window 
and engaged in a low conversation with ex-Speaker Sharpe, of the New York 
Assembly. Then he had a similar brief conversation with District Attorney Bliss, 
of New York. The inaugural was short, but pointed, and was well received. 
There was no demonstration of any kind. 

AN UNPRECEDENTED COINCIDENCE. 

The coincidence of two ex-Presidents being present at the swearing in of a Presi- 
dent is without precedent in history. General Grant and General Hayes chatted 
briefly together. General Hayes is a trifle sunburnt, but is looking in the full 
bloom of health. So also is General Grant. 

The taking of a second oath by the President (he having previously subscribed 
to it in New York) was not a legal necessity. The oath was taken to-day merely 
to conform to the custom that the Chief Justice should administer it. 

A CABINET CONFERENCE. 

About twenty minutes after the ceremony the small room was closed to all save 
the members of the Cabinet, and subsequently the Cabinet had a conference with 
the President, which, it is learned, was solely with respect to the funeral arrange- 
ments of the late President. Before the ceremony in the Vice-President's r oom 
ex-President Hayes and Senator Sherman called together, at Senator Jones' resi- 
dence, upon the President, but he happened to be out. 

General Arthur is the first President who entered upon the duties of the office 
elsewhere than at the seat of government, but there was a Vice-President who 
took the oath of office in a foreign land. Hon. William R. King, of Alabama, was 
elected Vice-President in 1852 on the ticket with President Pierce. He was in 
feeble health, and early in January, 1853, his physicians advised him to go to 
Cuba. Congress passed a special act under which he took the oath of office be- 
fore the consul-general at Havana, March 4, 1853. He died soon after returning 
to his home. 



196 

CHAPTER VII. 
H!S FIRST PROCLAMATION.— HIS FAMILY. 

The following proclamation was issued by President Arthur : 
By the President of the United States of America: 

A PROCIiAMATION. 

Whereas, in His inscrutable wisdom, it has pleased God to remove from us the 
illustrious head of the nation, James A. Garfield, late President of the United 
States ; and whereas it is fitting? that the deep grief which fills all hearts, should 
manifest itself with one accord toward the throne of infinite grace, and that we 
should bow before the Almighty and seek from Him that consolation in our afiJic- 
tion and that sanctification of our loss which He is able and willing to vouchsafe : 

Now, therefore, in obedience to sacred duty, and in accordance with the desire 
of the people, I, Chester A. Arthur, President of the United States of America, 
do hereby appoint Monday next, the 26th day of September, on which day the 
remains of our honored and beloved dead will be consigned to their last resting- 
place on earth, to be observed throughout the United States as a day of humiliation 
and mourning ; and I earnestly recommend all the people to assemble on that day 
in their respective places of Divine worship, chere to render alike their tribute of 
sorrowful submission to the will of Almighty God, and of reverence and love for 
the memory and character of our late Chief Magistrate. In witness whereof I 
have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. 

Done at the city of Washington, the 22d day of September, in the year of our 
Lord 1881, and of theindependenceof the United States the one hundred and sixth. 
[seal.] Chester a. Arthur. 

By the President : 

Jas, G. Blaine, Secretary of State. 



The household now called to the White House by the death of President Garfield 
has no lady to preside over it. President Arthur lost his wife a year ago last 
.January, and sadness over her loss is among his griefs. She was the daughter of 
Lieutenant-Commander Herndon, of the United-States; navy, who went down on 
his ship, the Central America. A gold medal, in i;ecc j;nition of his bravery, was 
voted by Congress to his widow and a monument ti> his memory was erected in 
the Naval Academy grounds at Annapolis. General Arthur married Miss Herndon 
in the early part of his career as a lawyer in New York city. He has two children, 
one a youth of 17, named after his father, but called Allan by the family ; the 
other a girl of 11, named Nellie. These, with the servants, constitute the house- 
hold of the modest Lexington avenue residence. The President bas one brother. 
Major William Arthur, of the regular army. He has three married sisters. Of 
these, Mrs. Mary McElroy, of Albany, has spent as much time at his house and 
has looked as much after his household aff"ai!S as she could. President Arthur's 
accession to his new responsibilities has been too recent for him to give any con- 
sideration to family arrangements for his residence at Wasiiington, but if the cares 
of her own family will permit, Mrs. McElroy will most probably be the lady who 
will preside at the White House. 



PART V. K. 



THE ASSASSIN. 



Charles Julius Giiiteau was born in Freeport, Illinois, on the 8th of September, 
1841. His father, L. W. Guiteau, was a man of some respectability, having been 
many years prior to his death, about one year ago, the cashier of the Second 
National Bank of Freeport. But even he was not balanced, but was at times mo- 
nomaniacal, and some years ago lectured extensively in the North and West on 
the subject of "Perfection." 

His wife was a very good-looking woman, and he with her and her children 
joined the Oneida community. They had three children, John Wilkes Guiteau, 
now a practicing lawyer in the city of Boston, and who is the New England agent 
for the Equitable Life Insurance Company of New York ; Flora, a promising 
young lad}% having a decided talent for music; and Charles Julius Guitean, the 
subject of this sketch, who basely and most cowardly took the life of our Presi- 
dent. He seems to have taken after his father in the lunatic turn of his mind 
much more than either one of the ethers. When the family left the Oneida 
community, Charles, then fifteen or sixteen years of age, remained behind. 

He received an ordinary common-school education in his native town, and was 
afterward sent to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where his father lived in 1835, and where 
he was sent to prepare himself for the University of Michigan. The weak and 
eccentric young visionary abandoned his father's plans for making a usefully edu- 
cated man of him, gave up his studies and resolved to return to the Oneida society, 
and did so, where he remained some four or five years; then becoming dissatisfied 
with the lack rather than the excess of license of debauchery in social affairs— 
under the rules of the society not being allowed to follow out the inclinations of 
his depraved nature to the extremes he desired— he accordingly severed his connec- 
tion with it, threatening to expose them by writing a book; but he was prevented 
by the head of the society, who exposed Guiteau's connection with the Society in 
the society paper. After leaving the society in 1869, Guiteau went to Chicago 
and began the study of law in the oflfice of his brother, then a practicing lawyer 
in that city. He soon became very frequent in his visits to the Young Men s 
Christian Association, where he met and soon became intimate with a young lady 
employed as librarian and married her; it proving to be an unhappy union, he 
deserted her in two or three years thereafter. He was admitted to the bar in the 
city of Chicago, opening an office and obtained a small practice in the collection 
of bills, etc. He soon displayed evidences of a very vicious character in failing to 
account for funds collected by him for his clients, and became so obnoxious that 
he was compelled to leaV the city. He then went to the city of New York, 
opened an office on Broadway, renting three rooms, and pursuing the same high- 
handed robbery as before, and was locked up in Ludlow street jail for misappro- 
priation of the moneys that he collected for his clients. Being finally re eased 
through the influence and endeavors of his brother-in-law, George bcoville, he 
instituted suits for libel against the New York Herald and the New lork I imes 
for large sums as damages. Then the New York and Chicago papers denounced 
him as a fraud, whereupon he retorts by bringing suits for libel against them m 
large amounts. None of them, however, ever came to trial. 

These and such as these are truly characteristic actions of the man; he seems to 
have always had a perfect mania for notoriety, and gain it he would; by wnat 
means he cared not, as evidenced by his last and most atrocious crime. He wag 
in many respects like the man who would burn down the most magnificent resi- 
dence that its burning might make fire for him to cook his eggs. 

In 1875 he returned to Chicago and tried to resume the practice ot law, but 
failing to do so, he claimed that it was heaven's desire to make known through 
him the truth about the second coming of Clirist, claiming that Christ s sec- 
ond coming was revealed to him as having transpired at the destruction or 
Jerusalem, A. D. 70. 



198 

He was the personification of egotism and obstinacy, and lazy beyond com- 
parison. Being remonstrated with by his brother for some dishonest proceed- 
ing, he exclaimed petulently: "You talk to me just like a father; you assume 
that I am all wrong. " Being a great reader of the daily lit erature, it is thought 
by some that after the assassination of Alexander II, Czar of Russia, by the 
Nihilists, he put himself in communication with the European Nihilists and 
tried to organize one of the same kind in the United States, with himself the 
chief. Being a man of incomparable cheek, he claimed intimate acquaintance 
and friendship with many of the most prominent men of our times. In poli- 
tics he was always a Republican, but not a monomaniac on that subject as on 
religion, until the split in the Republican party of the State of New York. 
Personally he was a great coward, fearing to go even into the dark part of a 
room without first arming himself. In appearance he was an American of 
French extraction, 35 or 40 years old, of medium height, slenderly built, fair 
complexion, brown hair, and wore a French shaped mustache and whiskers 
tinged with grey. His whole appearance was that of a dandified man of small 
mental caliber. ' From shystering in the police courts he drifted into various 
pursuits, and might have been seen occasionally well dressed, with a brisk, go- 
ahead air of business about him that was confidence-inspiring-, and again he 
might have been seen in a deplorable state of shabby gentility, hunting beer 
saloons and other low dens, in complete keeping with his true character. Occa- 
sionally exhibiting signs of insanity, he was always an eccentric, nervous, ex- 
citable being— eccentric it may be because he had heard it said to be character- 
istic of genius, but whose most eccentric act would not excite surprise long in 
any one, but soon elicit feelings of disgust from all who came often into con- 
tact with him. At one time in his eventful career of adventures he became 
quite an accomplished "dead-beat," imposing upon private families who occa- 
sionally accommodated boarders, and often swindling regular boarding-houses 
out of his board and their pay, and when things got too hot for him he would 
conveniently have business in some other city. Another one of his character- 
istics was a proclivity to follow and persecute with his attentions nice young 
ladies to whom he had had a casual introduction or on whom he had forced his 
acquaintance and attentions. 

After leaving Boston in 1879, he was next reported to have been among the 
A^ictiins of the great Narragansett disaster. But there was no such good for- 
tune in store for the country. He turned up shortly afterwards with an account 
of his experience on board that unfortunate vessel, through the columns of 
one of the New York papers. After that he was little better than a professional 
tramp, roamiug around over the country from Maine to California, swindling 
honest people out of something to keep his depraved soul linked to his pollu- 
ted body. He was at Saratoga in the early part of the late presidential cam- 
paign and advertisfttd as follows in the paper published there called, " The 
Saratogian:" "Garfield against Hancock— Charles Guiteau, of Illinois, the ora- 
tor of the West, will speak at the Town Hall, Saratoga, Saturday, July 10, 
1880, at 8 o'clock P. M. ; admission, 25 cents. Let the people turn out and hear 
an able, eloquent, and patriotic address." 'Twere useless to say the meeting 
never came off, the orator was on hand, but the good people were not patriotic 
enough to turn out'. Therefore, the orator retaliated by skipping his board bill 
and the town, without paying for either the hall or the advertisement. 

The bookkeeper of "The Saratogian" opened the following account against 
the lawyer, theologian, politician, and lunatic: "Charles Guiteau, July 1, 
1880, to advertising lecture, Garfield againt Hancock, daily, $3.00." 

Across the face of this account the poor defrauded bookkeeper had long 
. since written, "Fraud." 

JX- Finally, after the election, and President Garfield's inauguration, thinking, 
'probably, that he was a power towards shaping the result of the campaign, he 
takes the notion that the United States consulship at Marseilles, France, 
would pay him for his powerful efforts during the campaign and accordingly 
comes to the city of Washington. He came to Washiugton city on Sunday 
evening, March 6, 1881, and stopped at the Ebbitt House, remaining only one 
day. He then secured a room in another part of the city, and has boarded 
and/roomed at various places. On Wednesday, May 18, 1881, the assas&in de- 
termined to murder the President. He had neither money nor pistol at the 
time. About the last of May he went into O'Meara's store, at Fifteenth and 



199 

r streets, in this city, and examined some pistols, asking for the largest cali- 
ber. He was shown two similar in caliber and only diiierent in price. On 
Wednesday, June 8, he purchased the pistol which he used, for which he paid 
$10, he having in the meantime borrowed $15 of a gentleman in this city, on 
the plea that he wanted to pay his board bill. On the same evening, about 7 
o'clock, he took the pistol and went to the foot of Seventeenth street and prac- 
ticed firing at a board, firing ten shots. He then returned to his boarding 
place, wiped his pistol dry, wrapped it in his coat and waited his opportunity. 

On Sunday morning, June 12, he was sitting in Lafayette Park, and saw 
the President leave for the Christian Church, on Vermont avenue, and he at 
once returned to his room, obtained his pistol, put it in his pocket, and fol- 
lowed the President to church. He entered the church, but found he could 
not kill him there without killing some one else. He noticed that the President 
sat near a window. After churcli he made an examination of the window and 
found he could reach it without any trouble, and that from this point he could 
shoot the President through the head without killing any one else. The fol- 
lowing Wednesday he went to the church, examined the location and the win- 
dow, and became satisfied he could accomplish his purpose, and he determined, 
therefore, to make the attempt at the church the following Sunday. 

He learned from the papers that the President would leave the city on Saturday, 
the ISth of Jane, with Mrs. Garfield, for Long Branch. He, therefore, determined 
to meet him at the depot. He left his boarding place about 5 o'clock Saturday 
morning, June IS, and went down to the river, at the foot of Seventeenth street, 
and fired five shots to practice his aim and be certain his pistol was in good order. 
He then went to the depot, and was in the ladies' waiting-room of the depot with 
the pistol ready when the President's party entered. He says Mrs. Garfield looked 
so weak and frail that he had not the heart to shoot the President in her presence, 
and as he knew he would have another opportunity, he left the depot. He had pre- 
viously engaged a carriage to take him to the jail, 

On Wednesday evening the President and his son, and, I think. United States 
Marshal Henry, went out for a ride. The assassin took his pistol and followed them, 
and watched them for some time, in hopes the carriage would stop, but no oppor- 
tunity was given. 

On Friday evening, July 1, he was sitting on the seat in the park opposite the.. 
White House, when he saw the President come out alone. He followed him down 
the avenue to Fifteenth street, and then kept on the opposite side of the street 
up Fifteenth until the President entered the residence of Secretary Blaine. He 
watched at the corner of Mr. Morton's late residence, at Fifteenth and H streets, 
for some time, and then, as he was afraid he would attract attention, he went into 
the alley in the rear of Mr. Morton's residence, examined his pistol, and waited. 
The President and Secretary Blaine came out together, and he followed them over 
to the gate of the White House, but could get no opportunity tO use his weapon. 

On the morning of Saturday, July 2, he breakfasted at the Riggs House about 7 
o'clock. He then walked up into the park and sat there for an hour. He then 
took a one-horse avenue car and rode to Sixth street, got out and went into the 
depot and loitered around there ; had his shoes blacked ; engaged a hackman for 
two dollars to take him to the jail ; went into the water closet and took his pistol 
out of his hip pocket and unwrapped the paper from around it, which he had put 
there for the purpose of preventing the perspiration from the body dampening the 
powder; examined the pistol carefully, tried the trigger, and then returned and 
took a seat in the ladies' waiting-room, and as soon as the President entered, 
advanced behind him and fired two shots. 

The accounts of eye-witnesses of what happened do not agree in aU details. 
They aU appear to be somewhat dazed by what occurred, and, of course, no one 
was observing either the President or the assassin with any suspicion of what 
was to happen. Carefully collating and comparing all the narratives, it appears 
. that the President and Secretary Blaine Avere walking briskly across the room 
nearly abreast, still engaged in conversation, when both, as well as all in the 
vicinity, were startled by the report of a pistol in the room. That pistol was 
fired by Charles. J. Guiteau, a slender, light-complexioned man, perhaps forty 
years old, who had been noticed by the regular employees of the station hang- 
ing about the rooms for twenty or thirty minutes previously, walking al:%nt 
nervolRly, but doing nothing which would probably have been regarded as suf- 
ficiently peculiar to be remarked if it were not for the after-development of his 



200 

purpose. When the President and Secretary entered the door from the out- 
side he was standing in one of the doorways between the ladies' room and the 
general waiting-room, and advanced into the room as they advanced in the op- 
posite direction, but without attracting their attention. When he came quite 
near he levelled his pistol and fired. The President said nothing but turned 
partly around, as if looking to see whence the report came. Secretary Blaine 
also sprang to one side, away from the President, and looked for the murderer, 
who, for aught he then knew, might be seeking his life. As the President 
turned Guiteau discharged another barrel of his revolver into the President's 
back. Secretary Blaine then saw him and sprang for him, following him through 
the door into the general waiting-room, calling for the officer to seize him, and 
also calling for Colonel Rockwell, of the President's party, who was presumed 
to be in that room. Seeing that the assassin had been seized he rushed back to 
the President, wiio had already fallen. 

Guiteau was at once seized and carried to the District jail, a large brown- 
stone structure at the eastern extremity of the city. The officers, after the 
assassin had been lodged in jail, at first refused admittance to the jail, stating 
as their reason for so doing that they were acting under special instructions of 
Attorney-General MacVeagli, the purport of which was that no one should be al- 
lowed to see the prisoner. Indeed, at first they emphatically denied that the pris- 
oner had been brought to the jail, fearing that should the fact be made known 
the jail would be attacked by a mob. Information had reached them tliat such^ 
a movement liad been contemplated. The prisoner arrived at the jail and wa ' 
placed in a cell about 10:30 o'clock, an hour after the shooting took place. 

The prisoner gave his name as Charles J. Guiteau, lawyer, Chicago, Illinoii 
He was neatly attired in a blue suit and wore a drab hat pulled down over his 
eyes, giving liim the appearance of an ugly character, such as he actually had. 
He had previously visited the jail but was refused admission on the ground of 
its not being visitors' day. At that time he mentioned his name as being Gui- 
teau, and that he was from Chicago. The same officer who had previou.sly re- 
fused him admittance was the one to receive him after his appalling deed, and 
a mutual recognition took place between them, Guiteau saying, "You are the 
man who wouldn't let me go through the jail some time ago. " The only other 
remark that he made before being put into his cell was to the effect that Gen- 
eral Sherman would be at the jail soon. 

The jailors stated tliat they had seen him around the jail several times, and 
that on one occasion he seemed to be under the influence of liquor. On one of 
his visits subsequent to his first one these otficers stated that he had reached 
the rotunda of the building, where he was noticed examining the scaffold from 
which the Hirth murderers were hanged. 

As directed by the Attorney-General, the jailor refused to give any further 
information or tell in which cell the assassin had been lodged. The same offi- 
cer was an attendant of the old city jail when President Lincoln was assassi- 
nated. 

The following letters were taken from the assassin's pocket at Police Head- 
quarters : 
" To The White House : . Jult/ 3, 18S1 . 

"The President's tragic death was a sad necessity, but it will unite the Repub- 
lican party and save the Republic. Life is a flimsy dream, and it matters little 
when one goes; a human life is of small value. During the war thousands of 
brave boys went down without a tear. I presume the Pre.eident was a Christian, 
and that he will be happier in Paradise than here. It will be no worse for Mrs. 
Garfield, dear soul, to part with her husband this way than by natural death. 
He is liable to go at any time, any way. I had no ill-will toward the President. 
His death was a political necessity. I am a law^'er, a theologian and a politi- 
cian. I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts. I was with General Grant and the 
rest of our men in New York during tlie canvass. I have some papers for the press 
which I shall leave with Byron Andrew;^ and his co-journalists, at 1420 New York 
avenue, where all the reporters can /■; Ihem. I am going to the jail. 

Charles Guiteau." 

" To General Sherman ; 

"I have just shot the President. I shot him several times, as I wished hiA to 
go as easily as possible. His death was a political necessity. I am a lawyer, 



201 

theologian and politician. I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts. I was with Gen- 
eral Grant and the rest of our men in New York during the canvass. I am 
going to the jail; please order out your troops to take possession of the jail at 
once. Very respectfully, Charles Guiteau." 

On receiving the above General Sherman gave it the following indorsement : 

"Headquarters of the Army, Washington, D. C, July 2, 1881, 11:35 A. 
M. — This letter * * * was handed me this minute by Major William S. Twin- 
ing, UnitedStatesEngineers,'Commissionerof the District of Columbia, and Major 
William G. Brock, chief of police. I don't know the writer, never heard of or saw 
him to my knowledge, and hereby return it to the keeping of the above-named 
parties as testimony in the case. W. T. Sherman, General." 

GUITEAU'S STATEMENT OF WHAT INDUCED HIS AWFUL CRIME. 

Mr. Samuel Milliken, chief clerk of the Department of Justice, visited the 
District jail and exchanged a few words with the assassin Guiteau in his cell. 
Guiteau was in robust health, had a voracious appetite, eats about a pound of meat 
and two pounds of bread at a meal, and washes down the food with a quart or 
three pints of coffee. From Warden Crocker it was learned that Guiteau became ob- 
streperous when it was proposed to move him from the cell in which he was when 
shot at by Sergeant Mason, and it was found necessary to use main force to transfer 
him to the cell in which he now is, namely, one on the opposite side of the jail 
and backing up to or adjoinino^ his former cell. Since then he has been sullen 
and has "kept low" in the darkest part of his cell. Guiteau has made known his 
cause for the cat-like vindictiveness which possessed him and impelled him to 
make the murderous attack upon President Garfield. He explained that he was 
grossly insulted by the President. These are in substance the circumstances: 
He (Guiteau) sneaked into the President's office at the White House one day at a 
time while several members of the Cabinet and one or two other gentlemen were 
there, and, being an unbidden and unwelcome visitor, he was ejected from the 
room by order of the President. This treatment, Guiteau says, rankled in his 
breast and boiled in his blood. "The President had no right to insult me in that 
way." While being ejected he resolved upon revenge and the infliction of some 
serious bodily injury on the President. 




THE ASSASSIN. 



u 



APPENDICES 



APPENDIX A. 



INAUGURATIONS FROM WASHINGTON TO GARFIELD. 

Of^fte'^'^^f ¥^P twenty four Presidential inaugurations in this country 
Of the Presidents inaugurated, Washington, Jefferson, Madison mZ4 Tact 
bon, Lincoln, and Grant were each twice elected. Tyler FiCore In.l'f h^^ 

cm-rld'' Threl nn'J^V^^^ '^.°"V\^"^f Vice-Presid'ents wheTva;.a cies' S"- 
v\/f ^.. • 7 ®! Other Presidents, John Adams, Jefferson, and A^an Buren were 
Vice-Presidents previous to their election to the principal office ''"'^^''' ""^^^ 

THE FIRST INAUGURATION. 

TT.T-f!-f cf^\^°° "^ General Washington to the office of Chief Magistrate of thA 
United States was announced to him at Mount Vernon, on S 4th of April 
Jpff.A ^^ K''^}]^ business needed the immediate attendance of the pFSi 
rtv a?f3^ '''•^•''^ Government, he hastened his departure: and on the second 
day after receiving notice of liig appointment, took leave of MSvernnn 
He was met by a number of gentlemen residing in Alexandria and P.^nrfi^i 
to their city, where a public dinner had been pr|.aied to nhlclUie w^Tn^^^^^^^^^ 

JeiS,bors?o"r'." ^^ i^' ''"T '^''^ ^' ^^« Al4'andria, and S attended by Ms 
neighbors to Georgetown, where a number of citizens from the State of Mir^ 
land had assembled to receive him. Throughout his jouniev thf neonlP 00^ 

ISpned 'a?d c\'S' of 'Tf- '''''^^- ^^"^^^^^ ^^^^^^ aCnZi'm ^^ Sever^^^^^ 
stopped, and co ps ot militia and companies of the most resuect-ible Hfiyp i« 
escorted him tlirpugh their respective streets. At PhilacSffi he was rP 
ceived with peculiar splendor. Gray's bridge over the sSuXll was iXhS 
decorated. In imitation of the triumphal exhibitions of aSnt Rom? J^ 
arch, composed of laurel, in which was displayed tirsimpleele"4ceo^trn^ 

t' n^P^nVp'T^'^ ^* '^"? "^^^ «* '^^ '^"d on each side Sa lam^e? shrubberv 
As the object of universal admiration passed under the arch a civic crown wS' 
unperceaved by him, let down upon his head by a youth , ornamented with ?dS 
of laurel, who was assisted by macliinery. The fields an™n S leldi U fi im 
Pr!i wl"{-^'"^ ^^ PhiladeliMiia were crowded with peo% Zo S w S|eS 
eral Washington was conducted into the city by a numerous and 7esi)?ctal?fl 

ttff S'*''^""' ^']'^ ^* ?^^^* t^e town wa's illuminated Thrnext^davt 
Trenton, he was welcomed in a manner as new as it was pleasin- In addition 
hP r^f«.?"'''^ demonstrations of respect and attachment .Xh were given bv 
the discharge of cannon, by military corps, and by private persons of tSwnc- 
f Jp' t;ie gentler sex prepared in their own' taste a tribute ot SaitL inS- 
tive of the grateful recollection in which they held their deliverance i wpU a 
years before from a formidable enemy. On the bridge over the S^^^^^^ 
passes through the town, was erected a triumphal arc! highly oSamentedwfth 
wriSf """J ^^'''''''' and supported by thirteen pillars, "each Si ed Sh 
?7^T*^^^ f evergreen. On the front arch was inscribed in large -it letter? 
'The Defender of the Mothers will be the Protector of the Daf-lifeis '' On 
the center of the arch above the inscription, was a dome or cupola of floweS 
and evergreen, encircling the dates of two memorable events which we?e ne- 
cuharly interesting to New Jersey. The first was the battle of T?enton and 
the second the bold and judicious stand made by the Americmi trows" t the 
same creek, by which the progress of the British army was anSedoHhe even- 
ing preceding the battle of Princeton. At this place he m^s met b^a mrtv of 
matrons leading their daughters in white, who ^carried Se s of'^flouTr J ?i 



204 

At Brunswick he was joined by the Governor of New Jersey, who accom- 
panied him to Elizabethtown Point. A committee of Congi-ess received him 
on the road and conducted him with military parade to the Point, where he 
took leave of the Governor and other gentlemen of Jersey, and embarked for 
New York in an elegant barge of thirteen oars, manned by thirteen branch 
pilots, provided for the purpose by the citizens of New York. At the stairs on 
Murray's wharf, which had been prepared and ornamented for the purpose, he 
was received by the Governor of N ew York, and conducted with military hon- 
ors through an immense concourse of people to the apartments provided for 
him. These were attended by all who were in office, and by many private citi- 
zens of distinction, who pressed around him to offer their congratulations, and 
to express the joy which glowed in their bosoms at seeing the man in whom all 
confided at the head of the American empire. This day of extravagant joy 
was succeeded by a splendid illumination. The ceremonies of the inaguration 
having been adjusted by Congress, the President attended in the Senate cham- • 
ber, on the 30th of April, in presence of both houses, and took the oath prescribed 
by the Constitution. To gratify the public curiosity, an open gallery adjoining 
the Senate chamber had been selected ,by Congress, as the place in which the 
oath should be administered. Having taken it in view of an immense con- 
course of people, whose loud and repeated acclamations attested the joy with 
which his being proclaimed the President of .the United States inspired them, 
he returned to the Senate chamber, where he delivered his address. The scene 
of this inauguration Avas Federal Hall, in the city of New York, on the site of 
the present Sub-treasury building. The Federal Congress, which was to take 
the place of the old Continental Congress, was also organized here. 

WASHINGTON'S SECOND INAUGURATION. 

Before "Washington's second inauguration (1793) he asked from his Cabinet offi- 
cers their views as to the time, manner and place of the President's taking the 
oath of office. The opinions elicited were so contradictory that no change was 
made. The oath was publicly administered by Judge Gushing, of the Supreme 
Court, in the Senate chamber, Independence Hall, Philadelphia. There were pres- 
ent the heads of departments, judges of the Supreme Court, foreign ministers, as 
many of the Senate and House of Representatives as were in town, and a small 
sprinkling of spectators of both sexes, as the limited hall could not contain many. 
After Washington had delivered an exceedingly short inaugural speech, and the 
oath had been administered, he retired as he had come, without pomp or cere- 
mony; the people cheering him as he withdrew. 

INAUGUBATION OF JOHN ADAMS. 

The inauguration (1797) of John Adams (the last which took place in Philadel- 
phia) was celebrated in the House of Representatives. A reporter says : "At an 
early hour a great number of citizens had assembled around Congress Hall to wit- 
ness the retirement of our worthy President — Washington — from public life. The 
concourse increased to such a degree as to fill the street, and when the gallery 
doors were thrown open the house was suddenly filled up to overflowing. The 
ladies added to the dignity of the s'^ene. Numbers of them were seated in the 
chairs of representatives and others were accommodated with seats on the floor 
(literally on the floor) of the House. A few minutes after the Senate arrived, pre- 
ceded by their president, George Washington entered, but before he had ad- 
vanced half-way across the hall a burst of applause broke from every quarter of 
the house. On the entrance jf John Adams like marks of appreciation were ex- 
pressed." 

After the President-elect had delivered his speech the oath of office was read to 
him by the Chief Justice (Oliver Ellsworth,) which he energetically repeated. In 
a few minutes Adams, Vice-President Jeff"erson and Washington retired "amid 
reiterated hurrahs and a discharge of artillery." 

"Thus closed a scene the like of which was never before or after witnessed in 
this or any other country — which forms a new epoch in our history and in the his- 
tory of republican freedom to which we must commit the glorious subject." A 
banquet was gived to Washington in^the evening by the merchants of Philadelphia, 
"consisting of near 400 covers of the choicest viands nature produces." The 
heads of departments, officers of the army and foreign ministers were nearly all 
present. 



205 

INAUGURATION OF THOMAS JEFFERSON. 

This (1801) was the first inauguration in Washington, the seat of Government 
having been removed to this city in 1800. Washington vi^as then a rural hamlet. 
A discharge from the company of Washington artillery ushered in the day. About 
10 o'clock the Alexandria company of riflemen, w^ith the company of artillery, 
paraded in front of the President's lodgings. Jefferson, who had ridiculed the 
pageantry of the previous administrations, studied a republican simplicity in his 
inauguration. Dressed in plain clothing, and attended only by a few friends, he 
proceeded to the Capitol. When lie entered the Senate chamber the Senators rose 
to receive him. He took the chair proff"ered by Aaron Burr, president of the Sen- 
ate. It is said there were about one tliousand persons in the Senate chamber, one 
hundred and fifty of whom were lidies. The retiring President, John Adams, 
was not present, being unwilling "to enact the captive chief in the triumphant 
procession of the victor to the Capitol." There were discharges of artillery when 
Jefferson entered and left the Capitol. The remainder of the day was devoted to 
festivities, and at night tliere was a pretty general illumination. There is a tra- 
dition afloat that Jefferson rode to the Capitol on horseback, and after hitching his 
horse to the fence proceeded to the Senate chamber to be inaugurated. This pro- 
cedure was quite in keeping with Jefferson's republican ideas, but as a matter of 
fact it appears to stand on the same footing with the hatchet and cherry tree story 
about George Washington. 

JEFFERSON'S SECOND INAUGURATION. 

Jefferson was quietly re-installed in oflice, (1805,) taking the oath in the Sen- 
ate chamber. Ater the delivery of his speech, the President was waited upon 
by a large assemblage of members of the legislature, citizens, and strangers of 
distinction; and a procession was formed at the navy yard, composed of me- 
chanics engaged there, which marched to military music, displaying "with con- 
siderable taste the various insignia of their professions. 

INAUGURATION OF MADISON. 

On Saturday, March 4, 1809, James Madison assumed the duties of President 
of the United States. The day, from its commencement to its close, was, it is 
stated, ''marked by the liveliest demonstrations of joy." For many days be- 
fore citizens from the adjacent, and even remote States, had been pouring into 
Washington until its capacity of accommodation was strained to the utmost. 

The dawn of day was announced by a Federal salute from the navy yard and 
Fort Warburton, and at an early hour the volunteer corps of militia began to 
assemble. Such w^as the interest to be present at the inauguration that the 
whole area allotted to citizens in the Representative hall was filled and over- 
flowing several hours before noon, the time assigned for that purpose, and it is 
computed that the number of persons surrounding the Capitol, unable to ob- 
tain admittance, exceeded ten thousand. The Senate convened at 11 o'clock 
in the chamber of the Representatives, Governor Milledge, the President 2)ro 
tempore, in the chair. Agreeably to arrangement the Senators were placed 
next to the chair, the late President (Jefferson) of the United States on the 
rig]* of the chair, foreign ministers and suite on the left, judges of the Su- 
preme Court in front, heads of departments on the right of the President of 
the Senate, members of the House of Representatives on the floor, and various 
other places assigned for other public characters and for ladies. 

Mr. Jefferson arrived about 12 o'clock. A short time before that hour Mr. 
Madison left his own house escorted by the troops of cavalry of the city and 
Georgetown, commanded by Captain Brent, and at 12 entered the Representa- 
tive hall attended by the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of the Navy, 
the Attorney-General, and Mr. Coles, secretary to the late President, and in- 
troduced by a committee of the Senate, when Mr. Milledge left the central 
chair and conducted IMr. Madison to it, seating himself on the right. Mr. 
Madison then rose and delivered his address. The oath of office was then ad- 
ministered to him by Chief Justice Marshall, after which and as the President 
retired two rounds of minute guns were fired. On leaving the Capitol he found 
the volunteer militia companies of the District, nine in number, and in com- 
plete uniform, under the command of Colon^el M. Kinney, drawn up, whose 
line he passed in review, when he entered his carriage and was escorted home 
in the same way he came. 



206 

A large concourse of ladies anil gentlemen, and Mr. Jefferson among the 
number, immediately waited upon him, among whom refreshments were lib- 
erally distributed. The company generally, after calling on the President, 
waited on Mr. Jefferson to take a last farewell before his departure. 

Mr. Madison was dressed at his inauguration in a full suit of cloth of Amer- 
ican manufacture, made of the wool of merinos raised in this country: his coat 
from the manufactory of Colonel Humphreys and his waistcoat and small 
clothes from that of Chancellor Livingston, the clothes beiug severally pre- 
sented by those gentlemen. 

MADISON'S SECOND INAUGURATION. 

On March 4, 1813, being the day on which commenced the second term of Mr. 
Madison's election to the Presidency, he took the oath to support tlie Constitution 
of the United States, administered to him b.y Cliief Justice Marshall, in the 
presence of many members of Congress, the judges of the Supreme Court, the 
foreign ministers, and a great concourse of ladies and gentlem"n. The President 
was escorted to the Capitol bj' the cavalry of the District, and was received in his 
approach to the Capitol by the several volunteer corps of Washington, Georgetown 
and Alexandria, drawn up in line fur the purpose. The day was fiue, the sun 
shone brilliantly, as if to welcome it ; the appearance of the militar}^ — the Marine 
corps and volunteer- — was usually aniraatinsf. No accident occurred to mar the 
ceremonies of tlie day. The scene, we are told, " was truly brilliant ; at the same 
time it was solemn and truly republican." Previou- to taking the oath in the 
chamber of the House of Representatives, the President delivered an elegant and 
appropriate speech. In the evening there was a splendid .assembly at Davis' 
Hotel, in honor of the day, at which were present the President of the United 
States, heads of departments, foreign ministers, etc., and a "most lively assemblage 
of the lovely ones of our District." 

President Madison, accompanied by the beads of departments, Gen. Van Ness, 
auvl a number of ofheers of the militia of this Di.-trict, was escorted from his 
house to the Capitol by Captains Mandeville's, Caldwell's, and Peter's uniform 
cavalry, under the immediate command of Captain Peter. As the President and 
his suite approached the center of the line, composed of militia volunteers, a de- 
tachment of marines, and Lieutenant Perkins, with a detachment of United States 
artillery, formed near the Capitol, and passed in front. On his way to the south 
wing he was handsomely saluted by the line under Colonel Young, of Alexandria, 
commanding officer of the whole for the day. The President, on retiring from 
the hall of Representatives, received at the door of the south wing of the Capitol 
a marching salute from the whole line, consisting of several hundred troops, 
handsomely uniformed ; after which he and his suite were escorted back to his 
house, in the same order in which they passed up. The chronicler says, in con- 
clusion : '■' In addition to the many other agreeable, as well as solemn impressions 
produced by the interesting scene of this day, we cannot omit expressing the 
general satisfaction at the very handsome and honorable display made by our local 
militia." 

INAUGURATION OF MONEOE. • 

James M >nroe was inaugurated President March 4, 1817. At 11:30 o'clock, the 
Piesident, with him the Vice-President-elect, left his private residetico, attended 
by a large cavalcade of citizens on horseback, marshalled by the gentlemen ap- 
pointed to that duty. The President reached the hall of Congress a little before 
12 o'clock; at the Same time the ex-Pres!dt nt arrived, and the judges of the 
Supnnne Court. All having entered the chamber of tlie Senate, then in session, 
the Vice-President took the chair, and the oath of office was administered to him. 
A pertinent address was delivered on the occasion by the Vice-President. 

This ceremony having ended, the Senate adjourned, and the President and 
Vice-President, tlie judges of the Supreme Court, the Senate generally, the mar- 
shals, etc., attended the President to the elevated portico temporarily erected for 
the occasion, where, in the pvesence of an immense concourse of officers of the 
Government, officers, strangers, (ladies as well as gentlemen,) and citizens, the 
Piesident rose and delivered his speech. 

Having conclud d liis address, the oatli of oflSce was administered fo him by tlie 
Chief Justice of the United States. Tlie oath was announced by a single gun, 



207 

and followed by salutes from the navy yard, the battery from Fort Warburton and 
from several pieces of artillery on the ground. 

The President was received on his arrival with military honors by the Marine 
corps, by the Georgetown Eifleraen, a company of artillery and two companies of 
infantry from Alexandria ; and on his return was saluted in like manner. It is 
impossible, the newspaper account says, to "compute with anything like accuracy 
the number of carriages, horses and persons present. Such a concourse was never 
before seen in Washington ; the number of persons prcsen:: being estimated at 
from five to eight thousand. The mildness and radiance of the day casta brilliant 
hue on the complexion of the whole ceremony, and it is satisfactory to say that 
we heard of no accident during the day, notwithstanding the magnitude of the 
assemblage." 

The President and his lady, after his return, received at their dwelling the visits 
of their friends of the heads of departments, most of the Senators and Represent- 
atives, of all ^the foreign ministers at the seat of Government, or strangers and 
citizens, who also generally paid the tribute of their unabated respect to Mr. and 
Mrs. Madison. The evening concluded with a splendid ball at Davis' Hotel, at 
which were present the President and ex-President and their ladies, the heads of 
departments, foreign ministers, and an immense throng of strangers and citizens. 
A reporter says of this inauguration: 

"The difference said to have existed between the two houses in respect to the 
appropriation of the Keprcsentative chamber was rather fortunate than otherwise, 
since it caused the ceremony of the President swearing fealty to the Constitution 
to take place in the view, if not in the hearing of all the people of the United 
States who chose to witness it. This it appears to us is a mode far preferable to 
that of being cramped up in a hall, into which, however extensive, not more than 
four or five hundred^people can possibly have admittance." 

MONROE'S SECOND INAUGURATION. 

A the inauguration of James Monroe for a second term, March, 1821, the oath 
of office was administered.to the President by Chief-Justice Marshall, after which 
he delivered his address. The day proved very unfavorable for the attendance of 
spectators, there having fallen during tlie preceding night a good deal of snow and 
rain; notwithstanding which an immense crowd thronged the doors of the Capitol. 
The number of persons who obtained admission within the walls of the Repre- 
sentative chamber (gallery, of course, included) could nothtxve been less than 2,000. 
The President was placed on the platform in front of the Speaker's chair; the 
Chief Justice stood by his side during the delivery of the speech. Tlie associate 
judges, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
the heads of the departments, and many distinguished military and naval oflicers 
were near him. Assigned to their proper places were the members of the various 
foreign legations. The seats in the interior v/ere principally occupied by a numer- 
ous collection of ladies; and all around, above and below, were countless numbers 
of the people, of whom, without discrimination, as many were admitted, after the 
ladies and privileged persons were seated, as the room could accommodate. On 
the entrance and exit of the President the music of the Marine band enlivened 
the scene, which, it is stated, "was altogether characterized by simple grandeur 
and splendid simplicity." 

THE INAUGURATION OF JOHN QUINCY ADAMS. 

John Qiiincy Adams was inaucrurated March 4, 1825. The crowd at the doors 
of the Capitol began to accumulate about 9 o'clock, and, although ladies were 
allowed the privilege of their sex in being admitted to seats reserved for them in 
the lobbies of the House of Representatives, they had to attain the envied station 
at no small sacrifice, and the gentlemen who led and guarded them were obliged 
in some instances almost literally to fi;^ht their way to the doors. 

Toward 12 o'clock, the military, consisting of general and staff offi'-ers and the 
volunteer companies of the First and Second Legion, received the President at 
his residence, with his predecessor (Monroe) and sev'-'ral officers of the Govern- 
ment. The cavalry led the way, and the procession moved in very handsome 
array, with the music of their several corps, to the Cipitol, attended by thousands 
of citizens. The President was attended on horseback by the marshal, with his 



208 



assistants for the day, distinguished by blue badges, &c. On arriving at the Capi- 
toT the President with his escort, wis received by the Marine corps, under the 
command of Colonel Henderson, stationed in front in line of t^^Capitol, whose 
eSent band'of music" saluted the President on their entrance into the Capitol. 
'wtWn the hall, the sofas between the columns the entire spac^^^ 
^ninr inhbv without the bar, the spacious promenade m the rear ot tne »pea^ 

?Me orthe floS of the hall on the opposite side of ^hich sat the remammg 
?,1?h*rcirLl a^Hh^lSulat^n. The ti^e ^cc.p.^d hy the aeUver^^^ 

buke to S littleness of party spirit which can see no nient m a iival, and 

and avenue com^letel^etued The ^^^^^^^^^^^ compliments and re- 

spTcts ofa g" al"ni'X\'of 'lentleS^^^^ ikdies who caUed upon him, who also 
pS their r?spects at the mansion occupied by the ex-President. 

INAUGURATION OF ANDREW JACKSON. 



209 

inaugural address, and, having concluded it, the oath to support the Constitu- 
tion was administered to him by Chief Justice Marshall. Salutes were fired 
by two companies of artillery, stationed in the vicinity of the Capitol, which 
were repeated at the forts and by detachments of artillery on the plains. When 
the President retired, the procession was re-formed, and he was conducted to 
the Presidential Mansion. He here received the salutations of a vast number 
of persons, who came to congratulate him upon his induction to the Presi- 
dency. 

Mr. Webster writing from Washington in regard to the scenes at Jackson's 
inauguration says: "I never saw such a crowd here before. Persons have 
come five hundred miles to see General Jackson." Judge Story writes: "After 
the ceremony was over, the President went to the palace to receive company, 
and there he was visited by immense crowds of all sorts of people, from the 
highest and most polished down to the most vulgar and gross in the nation. I 
never saw such a mixture. The reign of King Mob seemed triumphant. I 
was glad to escape from the scene as soon as possible." No doubt Story was 
glad to escape; he was a bitter opponent of Jackson, audit was not to be ex- 
pected that he could enjoy these festivities." ''A profusion of refreshments," 
vn-ites a participant, "had been provided. Orange punch was made by barrels 
full; but as the waiters opened the doors to bring it out. a rush was made, the 
glasses broken, the pails of liquor upset and the most painful confusion pre- 
vailed. To such a painful degree was this carried that wine and ice cream 
could not be brought out to the ladies, and tubs of punch were taken from the 
lower story into the garden to lead off the crowd from the rooms. Men with 
boots on heavy with mud stood on the damask-satin covered chairs in their 
eagerness to get a look at the President." 

It is stated in the papers of that day that the swell -mob were present in 
large force in the throng that attended the inauguration of Jackson. Despite 
the cautions published to beware of pickpockets, one gentleman had his pocket 
picked of nine hundred dollars and many others were victimized to a smaller 
extent. 

JACKSON'S SECOND INAUGURATION. 

This took place March 4, 1833. At 12 o'clock President Jackson and Martin 
VanBuren, elected Vice-President, repaired to the Representatives' hall, in 
the Capitol, and in the presence of a number of Senators and Representatives 
in Congress, foreign ministers, public officers of the United States, and a great 
concourse of ladies and citizens, each took the oath of office, which was ad- 
ministered to them by the Chief-Justice of the United States. President 
Jackson delivered an address on the occasion, but Vice-President Van Buren 
did not make an address. 

INAUGURATION OF VAN BUREN. 

On the occasion of the inauguration of Martin Van Buren, (1837,) after he 
had delivered his address and taken the oath of office, national salutes from 
the military and naval stations within the city were fired in honor of the 
occasion, after which the President and ex-President returned to the Execu- 
tive Mansion, attended by the cortege which accompanied them to the Capitol, 
and whither a large number of citizens repaired to offer their salutations to 
the new President and take leave of his predecessor. The representatives of 
foreign governments also attended, and through Mr. Calderon, the minister 
from Spain, oifered their congratulations to the President in an appropriate 
and impressive address. 

The President, it is stated, " was escorted to the Capitol, and thence to his 
residence, by Captain Mason's fine volunteer troop of Dragoons, and by Cap- 
tains Blake's and Bronaugh's very handsome companies of volunteer infantry. 
The day was uncommonly brilliant for the season, and the fineness of the 
weather permitted great numbers of citizens to come in from the country,who, 
with the multitude of strangers who had been flocking into the city for many 
days from a distance, and the thousands of resident citizens, lined the avenue 
during the forenoon, and formed a larger concourse of both sexes at the Capi- 
tol during the ceremonies than was ever witnessed on any former occasion . 



210 

Thronged, however, as the streets and public places were during the day, not 
an instance of disorder took i)lace that we heard of. Indeed, everything wore 
a marked appearance of calmness, and the absence of excitement." 

INAUGURATION OF GENERAL, HARRISON. 

The inauguration of Harrison, (1841,) like that of Jackson, brought .to Wash- 
ington a vast crowd of enthusiastic followers. The morning of the inaugura- 
tion day broke somewhat cloudily, and the horizon seemed rather to betoken 
snow or rain. At sunrise a salute of twenty-six guns was fired from the Mall, 
south of their gun-room, by a party of the Columbia Artillerists, acting under 
the command of Captain Buckingham. Soon after the firing of these guns, 
the entire body, apparently, of citizens and numerous visitors, roused from 
their slumbers, thronged Pennsylvania avenue and its principal streets, and 
gave to them a very animated and lively appearance: the throng continuing to 
increase until 8 o'clock, when the various delegations, military companies, Tip- 
pecanoe clubs, associations and citizens assembled at their prospective posts. 

Soon after 10 o'clock the procession moved fi'om the head of I'our-and-a-half 
street, when a salute of three gnus announced their march towards the quarters 
of the Piesident-eltct. Havujg there received General Harrison, attended by his 
personal friends, the procession moved on from the quarters of the President-elect, 
up E street to Eleventh street; up Eleventh street to F street; up F street to Fif- 
teenth street; down Fifteenth street to Pennsylvania avenue; down Pennsylvania 
avenue to the south gate of the eastern yard of the Capitol. A reporter says : 
"Occupying a favorable p-sition in front ofBrown's Hotel, we noticed the pi-oces- 
si ^a as it passed along the most public part of Pennsylvania avenue to the Capitol. 
Tiie scene was hi^uhly interesting and imposi g. The ladies everywhere, from the 
windows on each side of the avenue, waved their handlverchiefs or hands in token 
of their kind f<:'elings, and General Harrison returned their smiles and greetings 
witli repeated b >ws. The enthusiastic cheers of the citiz.uis who moved in the 
proce-sion were, with equal enthusiasm, responded to by thousands of citizni spec- 
tators who lined Pennsylvania avenue, or appeared at tlie side windows, in the 
numerous balconies, on the tops of houses or on otlie.r elevated stands. At the 
head of tlie procession was the chief marshal, who was mounted on a fine horse, 
suitably caparisoned; as also were his two aides. The milicary portion of the pro- 
cession was remarkably fiiie and soldier-like. Much of this, no doubt, was owing 
to M.ij'T Fritz, oi the Philadelphia National Greys, whose company and excellent 
band of music were objects of particular notice and admiration. 

"N^'arly tlie whole throng of visitors accompanied t!ie PresidfMit to his new abode, 
and as many as possible entered and paid their personal respects to him. The 
whole building, however, could hardly contain a fortieth part of tliem; so that 
very many were unable to obtain admission" at all. A popular President will on 
such an occasion alivays be surrounded by more friends than it is possible for him 
to receive and recognize otherwise tlian in masses. The close of the day was 
marked by the repetition of salutes from the artilh'ry, t!ie whole city being yet alive 
with a population of strangers and residents, whom the mildness of the season 
invited into the open air. In the evening the several ball rooms and places of 
amusement were filled with crowds of gentlemen and ladies attracted to this city 
by the novelty and interest of the great occasion. In the course of the evening the 
President of the United States paid a short vidt to each of the a?sembl'es held in 
honor of the inauguration, and was received with the warmest demonstrations of 
attachment and respect. The end of the day was marked, as its progress from 
the early morning hour had been, by quiet and order, not only remarkable but 
astonishing, considering the vast crowds of persons, (he excitement of the occa- 
sion and the temptations which it oftVred to undue exhilaration," 

INAUGURATION OF JAMES K. POLK. 

The unfavorable state of weather on the day of the inauguration of James K. 
Polk (184.0) did not pi'event a large turnout of s'trangers and citiz^-ns to join in the 
inaugural procession, or to witness the proceedings at the Capitol. A^. sunrise a 
discharge of artillery announced the ceremonies of the day. At 8 o'clock A. M. 
the voliuue^r companies of the D'utriet, and those which had arrived fiom Balti- 
more and distant places, commenced marching towards the appointed parade 



211 

grounds in front of the City Hall, About 10 o'clock the military, under command 
of Captain Mason, of the Potomac Diagfoons, marched forward and took their ap- 
pointed station in front of Colem:in''s Hotel. Here the inangural procession was 
formed under the direction of Chief Marshal MeCalla and his aide.'^. 

Between 11 and 12 o'clock the President elect left Coleman's Hotel, and then 
the processio)! took up its line of march towards the Capitol, the military being 
m f:ont. and making altog'ther a handsome display, there being eleven volunteer 
companies in the line, of whom eight belonged ro the District of Columbia, one to 
Baltimore, one to Savagp Factory and one to Fairfax county, Va. 

Tiie District volunteer companies appeared to great advantage, but the most 
prominent and most observed of all the companies in the procession was the lude- 
pendent Blue?, of Baltimore, commanded by Captain Watson— a corps noted for 
excellent discipline, and to wiiich was attached D^em's strr.ng and .skilful band of 
musicians. The Savage Factory Guards, a handsomely uniformed company, under 
the command of Captain Williams, also appeared to great advantage, as did the 
Fairfax County Cavalry, under the command of Captain Wilcockson. The volun- 
teer companies in front of the procession were as follows : Fairfax Cavalry, Poto- 
mac Dragoons, Independent Bines. Savage Factory Guards, Washington L!<Tht 
Infantry, National Blues, Independent Grays, Union Guards, Mechanical Eifie- 
men. United Riflemen, Columbia Riflemen. The famous Empire Club, of New 
York, followed the military. They bore in front a large silk banner, which was 
surmounted with the cap of liberty, and had on it portraits of Washington, Jefler- 
6on, Jackson, and Van Buren. The members of this cl-'.b wore a uniform consist- 
ing of a red jacket and a leather girdle. They had with them a mounted brass 
CTunon, which they fired in front of Coleman's Hotel several times, &nd afterward 
at the Capitol. After the Empire Club, followed several army and naval offl< ers 
and the reverend clergy. Next came, in an open carriage, escorted by General 
Hunter, marshal of the District of Columbia, and several assistant marshals, the 
President ekct and his immediate predecessor. The carriage was flanked by the 
F.Jrfax Cavalry. 

As the carriage passed along Pennsylvania avenue, at different points of the 
line, the people cheered the President-elect, and there was in some places a waving 
O? handkerchief-s by the ladies from the windows that commanded a view of the 
proc'^ssion. After' the President-elect, followed various distinguished func'ion- 
aries, judicial, civil, and military. Then followed the corporate authorities of 
Washington, and the Democratic associations of Washington, Georgetown, Alex- 
andria, and other places. This formed the largest and m'^'St imposing portion of 
the civic proce^ssion. The Marine Band played national and appropriate music. 
Numerous silk banners, bearing appropriate mottoes, were borne in the proces- 
sion. The professors and students of Gi orgetown C allege closed the line of the 
inaugural procession. The students, in their college uniform, preceded by the 
hanasome silk banner, presented to the Philodemic Society of Georgetown College 
by the ladies of the Cathedral Church of Baltimore, accompanied by a good hand 
of music, attracted no little attention. 

The procession entered the precincts of the Capitol about 12 o'clock, and soon 
afterward the President-elect delivered the inaugural addr^-ss, and was duly 
installed into ofHce. 

INAUGURATION OF GENERAL TAYLOR. 

The inau;?^uration (1S49) of the popular favorite, General Z^chary Taylor, brought 
to Washington a large crowd, composed of repr -sentatives of .11 the different par- 
ties that had supported "OldZick." It was noted at the time as showing the 
nature of th-.» rush to Washington that on the day preceding the inauguration a 
train arrived " numbering as many as twenty-eight cars." In those days an arrival 
of this size was considered something exceptional. On the day of the inauguration 
the numbers in attendance were said to be much larger than were ever before col- 
lected in Washington. The weather though cloudy was not particularly unpleas- 
ant for the fickle season of the year. At tiie break of day the strains of martial 
music resounded along the principal avenues of the city, and hundreds of star- 
spangled banners of every fabric and dimension were unfolded to the breez!>. The 
bells of the city tlien rang out a stirring peal, and long before the usual breakfast 
hour the people were wending their way in masses to the Capitol. 



212 

At 9 o'clock one hundred gentlemen, who officiated as marshals, mounted their 
horses in front of the City Hall and proceeded in a body to Willard's Hotel for the 
purpose of paying their respects to General Taylor. Having been escorted to the 
long upper hall of the hotel, and arranged themselves in a line, the President elect 
made his appearance, leaning upon the arm of the mayor of the city, and pro- 
ceeded to shake the hands of the gentlemen present as a return for their polite 
salutation. The General vi^as dressed in a plain suit of black, and he appeared to 
be in the enjoyment of his usual good health. 

At half-past eleven o'clock the procession took up its line of march. The sev- 
eral military companies, of which there were about a dozen, presented a good 
appearance. The carriage in which the President-elect was escorted was drawn 
by four handsome grey horses, and protected from the pressure of the multitude 
by the cavalcade of the hundred marshals already mentioned. The gentlemen 
who accompanied General Taylor in his carriage were the Speaker of the House of 
Eepresentatives and the mayor of the city of Washington. According to previous 
arrangement, however, when the general's carriage arrived in front of the Irving 
Hotel, where ex-President Polk was sojourning, the procession halted, and Mr. 
Polk was handed into the carriage, and a seat awarded to him on the right of the 
President-elect, who shook his predecessor cordially by the hand, whereat nine 
long and loud cheers were given by the spectators. The procession resumed its 
march. Both sides of Pennsylvania avenue were thronged with human beings, 
all the way from Willard's Hotel to the Capitol grounds. Many of the roofs of the 
houses were covered, and every window was completely blocked with heads. The 
time occupied by the procession in reaching the east front of the Capitol was about 
an hour, and after the conclusion of the inaugural ceremonies the booming of ar- 
tillery resounded from one end of the city to the other. 

At 12 o'clock the members of the late executive cabinet appeared, Mr. Buchanan 
leading the way, and occupied places on the left of the ex- Vice-Presidents, 
The President-elect entered in company with ex-President Polk and took a seat, 
which had been prepared for him ; Mr, Polk occupying another on his left hand. 

The appearance of General Taylor, it is stated, was so perfectly unassuming, that 
many persons had repeatedly to inquire, ''before they could assure themselves 
that that was the man whose name and deeds had tilled the trumpet of fame, and 
won the love and highest honors of his countrymen. The general saluted those 
near him with an air of frankness and good will, and conversed for some time (in 
whispers) with Chief Justice Taney, (probably as to the ceremony about to take 
place.) 

After a brief pause, the order of procession was announced and the company 
retired from the chamber of the Senate, passing through the rotunda to the east- 
ern portico of the Capitol. On reaching the staging erected over the flight of 
stairs of the portico of the Capitol, and "standing in full view of the upturned 
eyes of at least twenty thousand people," the President-elect pronounced the in- 
augural address. This address was delivered in a remarkably distinct voice, and 
many parts of it were enunciated with a full and clear emphasis, and enthusiasti- 
cally responded to by the cheers of the surrounding spectators. As soon as the 
applause which marked the conclusion of the address had subsided, the oath of 
office was administered to the President by Chief Justice Taney. The President 
was tlien overwhelmed with congratulations. Chief Justice Taney and ex-Presi- 
dent Polk taking the lead. 

INAUGURATION OF FRANKLIN PIERCE. 

The inauguration day (1853) was unpleasant. The sky was clouded, and there 
was a slight fall of snow. Nevertheless an immense crowd, for those days, assem- 
bled, and later in the i ay made Pennsylvania avenue almost impassible. The av- 
enue was gaily decorated with flags, banners, etc., through which the procession 
passed. The marshals were Major A. A. Nicholson, Col. Wm. Selson, Dr. A. W. 
Miller, Rob. Quid. Col. H. S. Lansing, Dr. E. M. Chapia. O/der of procession : 
The judiciary, the clergy, marshal-in-ehief with aides. President, President-elect 
and suite, with marshals. Senate committee of arrangements, foreign ministers, 
corps dijjlomatique, members of Congress, &c., governors, ex governors and mem- 
bers ;of State legislatures, army, navy and militia, otflcers and soldiers of v/ar of 
revolution, of 1812, etc., corporate authorities of Washington and Georgetown, 
the Jackson Democratic Association, other political associations, organized civic 



213 

societies, professors and students of colleges aud schools in the District of Colum- 
bia, citizens. After the usual proceedings in the Senate, the oath was administer- 
ed in the eastern portico by Chief Justice Taney in the presence, it was estimated, 
of 20,000 persons. The President then delivered his inaugural speech (half an 
hour long) from memory. In tlie evening lie received the congratulations of a 
large number of citizens at the Executive Mansion. 

INAUGURATIOK OF JAMES BUCHANAN. 

During the night before the 4th of March, 1857, the city was animated by 
the blaze of rockets, the movements of ball-goers, the bustle at the Capitol, 
(Congress being in session all night,) the march of military companies, and 
the weary tramp on the sidewalks of thousands of visitors, unable to obtain 
lodgings. The day was mild and sunny. The military portion of the proces- 
sion organized at the City Hall. Patient groups of spectators occupied the 
City Hall steps from an early hour. A reporter says: "Not a few country 
wagons were drawn up by tlie curbstone, filled with substantial Montgomery 
county farmers and their families, and not a few Prince George bucks pranced 
around upon horseback, exhibiting witching feats of horsemanship before the 
admiring eyes of the ladies on the City Hall steps." 

About noon the procession proceeded to Willard's Hotel, wliere President 
Pierce and the President-elect, in an open barouche, took their places in the 
line. The marshals headed the procession. Next came the 1st artilley, Co. K, 
and other divisions of the regular army, a battalion of United States marines, 
various guards and rifle organizations, the Albany Burgess Corps, the Charles- 
town City Guard, the Lancaster Fencibles, the Alexandria battalion, the Rich- 
mond Montgomery Guards, the Alleghany Guards, the soldiers and sailors of 
the war of 1812, with a venerable banner; the President and President-elect, 
the ship Constitution, from the navy yard; the Jackson Democratic Associa- 
tion, and other political clubs from South Carolina, Philadelphia, Baltimore, 
California, etc., and, lastly, the fire companies. 

Chief Justice Taney administered the oath of office "amid the sky-rending 
shouts of the multitude." 

The appearance of the military, ranged as they were in the most picturesque 
positions of the scene g<T,ve an air of briUlancy to the whole ceremony that was 
never before paralleled in this country. 

Among the notabilities in the crowd witnessing the inauguration was Beau 
Hickman, circulating briskly and gracefully about, and affecting small loans 
from his acquaintances. 

INAUGURATION OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN. 

The day (March 4, 1861,) dawned inauspiciously, with leaden skies and tor- 
nadoes of dust: In the course of the morning, however, the skies brightened 
and the wind lulled. 

For some time previous to the inauguration there had been threats of blood- 
shed on that occasion, and the military authorities taxed their brains for de- 
vices to prevent any such catastrophe. The volunteer organizations in the pro- 
cession were supplied with cartridges. Sharpshooters were posted at conve- 
nient points along the avenue and on the roofs of buildings, and at the market 
house a small force of infantry was posted for the support of the riflemen in 
that vicinity. General Scott, with Magruder's and Fry's batteries, was at the 
corner of Delaware avenue and B street ready for action, the gunners and 
drivers remaining at their posts during the ceremony. General Scott kept his 
scouts busily occupied visiting all parts of the dense crowd and watching for 
the first indications of trouble. But the day passed off quietly. The com- 
mandant (Magruder) of one of the batteries referred to left Washington a few 
days after and was made subsequently a Confederate general. 

The procession formed at 9 o'clock, in front of the City Hall, and at 11 o'clock 
marched to Willard's Hotel and awaited the President and President-elect, 
who joined the line in an open carriage a little after 12 o'clock. Mr. Lincoln 
was pale, wan, and anxious. The carriage was carefully surrounded by the 
military and by the committee on arrangements. The marshal-in-chief was 
Major B. B. French. Among the bodies in the line were the Washington 



214 

Light Infantry battalion, the Henderson Guards, Companies A, B, and C, 
Union regiment; Metropolitan Rifles, Turner Rifles, Washington Light Guard, 
Meclianics' Union Rifles, Putnam Rifles, the Sappers and Miners, President's 
Mounted Guard; the Georgetown division, including the first Georgetown vol- 
unteer battalion, the Potomac Light Infantry, Carrington Home Guards, the 
Scott Rifles, the District of Columbia Rifles, the Anderson Rifles, companies 
A and B, the Georgetown Mounted Guard, and delegations from ifew Hamp- 
shire, Vermont, Massachusetts, New York, California, and Virginia. There 
also appeared in the procession the great car of the Republican association, 
with pyramidal seats, culminating in a center, from which rose a staff sur- 
mounted with a large gold eagle. The sides were draped v ith red, white, and 
blue, and on each side was the word "Constitution" in large letters. The car 
was drawn by six white horses with covers bearing the word ^ Union,'" and 
contained an appropriate number of little girls, dressed in white, each bearing 
the coat-of-arms of a State or Territory. 

The President-elect took the oath of otRce and delivered the inaugural address, 
reading from printed copy, interspersed with numerous manuscript interlinea- 
tions, at the east front of the Capitol. His speech was an impressive one, and 
was delivered in a clear, penetrating voice. Though the reports that an attempt 
would be made to shoot Mr. Lincoln Avhile delivering his inaugural were not 
seriously credited, it was thought advisable to omit no precaution to frustrate 
any such plot ; and accordingly the police in front of the Capitol were noticed 
preventing tlie assemblage of any suspicious-looking individuals in compact 
masses by passing among them at short intervals. 

When the inauguration ceremonies were finished the military, as a final cer- 
emony, escorted the President and his attendants to the White House. 

SECOND INAUGURAL OF LINCOLN. 

There was a heavy rain and wind storm on the morning of the 4th of March, 
1865, and the streets were covered with a thick coating of mud. The engineer 
corps, it was facetiously stated, " made a survey and took soundings of the 
avenue for the purpose of determining the practicability of laying pontoons 
from the Capitol to the White House, but it was found that the bottom was 
too soft to hold the anchors of the boats, and the project was abandoned. " The 
civil war had not yet closed. The city was filled with exciting rumors that 
" something was going on,'' and the public mind was in a feverish state. The 
military patrols were doubled on the streets, and the troops who participated in 
the inauguration had their arms loaded in readiness for any emergency. Every 
movement of suspicious characters was watched. The known and unknown 
dangers which threatened the safety of the city and surrounded the President 
and his Cabinet invested the occasion with more than ordinary interest. The 
preparations were not, liowever, so warlike, nor was the number of strangers 
so great as at the time of Lincoln's first inauguration. It was estimated that 
the number of arrivals daily during inauguration week varied from 5,000 to 
8,000. The avenue was crowded. Thousands of people occupied the sidewalks, 
and the windows and balconies of private and public buildings. The long col- 
onnade of the Treasury building bore an immense freight of human beings, and 
the west front of the Capitol was similarly loaded. The national flag in some 
shape, mammoth or miniature, was to be seen at every available point. The 
procession was headed by 119 Metropolitan police. Then came United States 
troops; then the Philadelphia and Washington fire departments, the great dis- 
play features of the parade; a beautiful Temple of T.iberty car diawn by four 
large bay horses; the East Washington Lincoln and Jolm-on Club, Avith a fine 
working model of the Monitor, drawn by four white horses; other civic organi- 
zations including the Potomac Hose Company, of Georgetown; United States 
marines. United States troops, colored Odd Fellows, and lastly the Giesboro' 
cavalcade, mounted. Tlie marshal-in-chief was Daniel R. Goodloe. The chief 
United States marshal was Ward H. Lamon. 

* * * » * * * * *♦ 

At the Senate chamber Vice-President Johnson was sworn in. He delivered an 
incoherent address, (apparently under the influence of liquor,) which created great 
surprise, and caused the American people intense mortification. The oath wa^ 



215 

administered to President Lincoln at the east portico. Tiie threatening clouds had 
dispersed, and the grounds were packed with spectators, who greeted the Presi- 
dent's appearance with loud, long, and enthusiastic clieers. The civic procession 
and a militaiy escort accompanied the President to the Executive Mansion. 

In the evening there vvas a reception at the White House. When the gates were 
thrown open about 2,^00 people made a grand rush to gain admittance, and the 
pushing and jostling were terrible, and dresses and coats suffered in the fray. 
NotvFithstandiug the crowd, the reception was brilliant. The President seemed 
in excellent spirits, notwithstanding the fatigues of the day. A detachment of 
the loth Pennsylvania Volunteers, the Union Light Guard, and a detail of the 
Metropolitan police worked harmoniously together in preserving order and keep- 
ing back the ciowd. 

YICE PRESIDENT JOHNSON SWORN IN AT THE PARLOR OF THE KIRKWOOD 

HOUSE. 

President Lincoln, shot by the assassin Booth on the night of April 14th, 1865» 
died the next morning at tvi'enty-two minutes past 7 o'clock. The great bulk of 
the responsibility fell upon Mr. Stanton, Secretary of War, in the absence of Mr. 
Seward. There were but few prominent men at Washington, but among them 
were Senator Ramsey, (afterwards Secretary of War,) Senators Stewart, John 
P. Hale, General Farnsworth, of Illinois, and Solomon Foote, of Vermont. These 
gentlemen met to discuss the situation, and at once resolved that the requirements 
of the Government demanded that steps should be immediately taken for the in- 
duation of Vice-President Andrew Johnson into the otilce of President of the 
United States. Accordingly, a consultation with Mr. Stanton was resolved upon, 
and it was without further ceremony agreed that Chief Justice Chase be sent for 
to proceed to the Kirkwood House and swear Mr. Johnson in as President of the 
United States. This was accordingly carried out at 10 o'clock A. M. April 15th, 
and the above-named^gentlemen, with a few others, the Provost Marshal of the 
District, and some of his special detectives in and near the room, were the only 
persons present. 

The memorable scene is thus described by Col; J. R. O'Beirne, who was at the 
time District Provost Marshal : "■ The whole thing was conducted quietly, and tho 
outside world knew nothing of what was transpiring in the parlor of the Kiikwood 
House. A long, narrow, high-walled room, plainly and neatly furnished and 
carpeted, as all old-fashioned hotel parlors are, with a few small marble-top ta- 
bles in the center, huge old-fashioned brass chandeliers overhead, would outline 
the make-up of this room. There was no Bible to be had on looking about for it, 
and one was accordingly sent for. Mr. Johnson came in from his apartment up 
stairs, and joined the party awaiting him. He looked very sad, and was quite 
taciturn. When he spoke, it was in a low tone, and with a huskiness that be- 
tokened an indignation, if not of subdued rage, which was iDexplicable. One 
could not tell whether it was on account of a spirit of resentment at the murder 
of Mr. Lincoln, or because it placed him as his successor in a new and trying posi- 
tion to which he was unused. The oath was delivered by Chief Justice Chase, in 
the slow, solemn intonation of one in deep grief, and the heavy, robust sound of 
his strong voice, when he chose to exert it, filled the large chamber in all its parts, 
and sounded like the invocation of one of our fervid divines when addressing the 
Deity. Mr. Johnson held jointly wi*h him the old Testament in his right hand, 
without the sign of a vibration, and leaned with the other on his finger-tips upon 
the table before him, kissed the book, and then prepared to return to his humble 
room on tlie floor above. A hurried consultation was held for a few moments, an 
early Cabinet session resolved upon, some other few details referred to, arid An- 
drew Johnson, the new President of the United* States, who had been so made 
under republican forms, with no more ceremony than occurs in the swearing of 
an unimportant witness before a justice of the peace, moved ofi" gently, his tightly 
fitting black suit and neatly combed hair, distinguishing him only as a plainly- 
dressed, modest, well-disciplined American citizen. The whole affair was dis- 
patched as though only one of every-day importance, and the distinguished men 
present quickly separated for their allotted spheres ; Mr. Stanton, being one of 
the last to go out, was moody and very much absorbed, with head slightly beat 
forward, and his eyes cast down, apparently in deep thought." 



216 



INAUGURATION OF GENERAL GRANT. 

The morning of inauguration day (1869) opened with lowering skies and occa- 
sional showers, and the avenue presented the appearance of a struggling army of 
umbrellas. At 10 o'clock Jupiter Pluvius (in the absence of the weather bureau) 
began to relent, and the opening skies gave promise of a fair day. Pennsylvania 
avenue was handsomely decorated. One of the finest eflects in the way of deco- 
ration was obtained at the headquarters of the Government fire brigade. The 
whole reservation on which the buildings were situated, bounded by Pennsylva- 
nia avenue, H and Nineteenth streets, was surrounded with thousands of Chinese 
lanterns, suspended at intervals of a few feet. Most of them were red, white and 
blue, with the word "Union" emblazoned on them. The engine house, offices, 
etc., were also profusely ornamented. The city was crowded with visitors, the 
number being estimated" at one-third greater than at any previous inauguration. 
Windows, balconies and porticos on the avenue were in great demand. Twenty- 
five and fifty dollars were paid for single windows. Trees, awning posts, signs 
and house-tops were occupied. The mossy roof of the old Center market build- 
ing was fairly covered with men and boys. This venerable pile, the chronicler of 
the day alleges, puzzled the visitors considerably from their inability to imagine its 
uses. When told that it was a market-house they were at loss to know why so 
miserable a structure was maintained for market purposes in this conspicuous posi- 
tion, and as nobody could inform them, they concluded that probably General 
Washington used to buy his marketing there, and that the old shed was therefore 
fondly treasured as a relic. The procession started about 11 o'clock. A silly 
story was afloat that a secret band had sworn to revenge themselves for the execu- 
tion of Mrs. Surrat^by assassinating the President and Vice-President-elect on 
their way to the Capitol. But no attention was paid to it. Question had been 
raised as to whether the retiring President .Johnson and the President-elect would 
ride to the Capitol together. As a compromise to meet the difficulties of the case, 
it was proposed that the President and the President-elect should ride in separate 
carriages to be driven abreast, but President Johnson declined to accept this posi- 
tion in the procession and his carriage was omitted. Brevet Major-General A. S. 
Webb, grand marshal, arranged the procession in eight divisions. Among the 
organizations to be noted were the Twelfth infantry, a battalion of U. S. Marines, 
the Washington Grays of Philadelphia, the Philadelphia Fire Zouaves, and Zouaves 
from Buffalo, Washington, Georgetown and Baltimore, the Albany Burgess Corps 
(a prominent feature in the line), the Republican Invincibles of Philadelphia, 
various representatives of the boys in blue, including battalions from the Second 
Sixth and Seventh regiments,the Washington Schuetzen Verein, Columbia Turn 
Verein, the United States fire department, the Washiugton fire department, 
and similar visiting organizations. The surviving soldiers of the war of 1812, 
thirty in number, were seated in an omnibus drawn by six horsps, the vehicle 
being decorated with flags on top, and with cards bearing the names of the States 
tacked on the sides. The miniature ship, Constitution, full rigged dnd equipped, 
with stern and quarter boats, anchors and chains arranged in regular man-of-war 
style, carrying a formidable-looking battery, and manned by youths in sailor cos- 
tume, was drawn in a car by six richly caparisoned horses. This ship had fig- 
ured in the inauguration of Buchanan, and had been laid up in the ship-house of 
the navy yard. 

There was the usual crowd in the Senate chamber, and about the inaugural 
stand at the east front. The President read his inaugural in a clear but low voice. 
The procession escorted the President to the Executive Mansion, and then broke 
ranks. 

Among the attractions with which visitors were favored was the view for twen- 
ty-five cents of the mammoth white ox "General Grant," weight 3,602 pounds, 
which had been sold and raffled over and over again for the benefit of the sanitary 
commission. 

SECOND INAUGURATION OF GRANT. 

A polar wave, bringing with it an unseasonably low temperature and a bitter 
wind, was among the visitors on inauguration day, 4th of March, 1873. Fierce 
and icy gusts kept up a lively fluttering among the twenty arches of flags and 
bunting spanning the line of march, but did not prevent the streets from being 



217 

well filled. Large platforms, erected in front of the National and Metropolitan 
hotels accommodated the guests of ftiose houses. The procession formed under 
General William F. Barry, grand marshal. Among the notable bodies which 
participated were a battalion of U. S. cadets, the tJ. S. marine corps, the Old 
Guard of New York, the Washington Light Infantry battalion, the Corcoran 
Zouaves, the Washington Grenadiers, the Washington Light Guard, the St. 
Louis National Guard, the Philadelphia City Troop, the Boston National Lan- 
cers, the Governor's Mounted Guard, the Albany Burgess Corps, the Washing- 
ton Grays, o^ Philadelphia; the Duquesne Grays, of Pittsburg; the State Fen- 
cibles, of Philadelphia; the Second Connecticut regiment, the Third New 
Jersey regiment, the Butler Zouaves and Territorial Guards, of this city; the 
Fifth Maryland regiment, the Third battalion, Stanton Guards; the Hartranft 
Club, of Philadelphia; the Cameron Club, Philadelphia; the veterans of the 
Mexican war, the Washington Schuetzen Verein, the Columbia Turner Verein, 
and the Washington fire department. 

The customary scenes took place in the Senate. The oath was administered 
and the inaugural delivered on a grand inauguration stand at the eastern main 
entrance to the Capitol. The platform accommodated about 300 persons, and 
was draped in American flags. Photographs of the scene were taken during 
the reading of the address, which, owing to the high wind, was inaudible even 
to those in the immediate vicinity. On the return march tlie air was so keen 
as to drive even the Boston Lancers to overcoats. The procession was reviewed 
by the President. The avenue was illuminated on inauguration evening, and 
there were fine displays of flre-works at the White lot and at the Capitol 
grounds. 

THE liSTAUGURATION OF RUTHERFORD B. HAYES. 

Inauguration day, Marcli 5, 1877, was raw and cloudy. Despite the pro- 
longed uncertainty as to the result of the Presidential election, and the short 
time given for arrangemerts to come to Washington, the city was crowded. 
It was estimated that 50,000 persons left New York for AVashington on Satur- 
day, March 3. The avenue was gaily attired in waving bunting, the striking 
features being pyramids or arches, composed of flags and streamers of varie- 
gated colors, suspended across the avenue by strong cords. The decorations 
were not so extensive as would have been the case had longer time been afforded 
for preparation. At about 10 o'clock the procession moved. Brevet Major W. 
D. Whipple being gi-and marshall. The first division was composed of regular 
United States troops. The second comprised the U. S. marine corps. In the 
third division were Company A, Washington Light Infantry; the State Fen- 
cibles, of Philadelphia; the Weccacoe Legion, the Washington Light Guard, 
Washington Artillery, First battalion colored troops, and the Columbus Ca- 
dets. The President and Yice-President-elect. General Grant, the President 
of the Senate, and other prominent officials composed the Fourth division. 
The Hartranft Club, of Philadelphia; the National Veteran Club, of the Dis- 
trict; Maryland Veteran Association, and the Grand Army of the Kepublic of 
the :District of Columbia were prominent in the fifth divisiosi. Various Ee- 
publican associations, a number of citizens, and the city fire department com- 
pleted the procession. At the Senate the gallery had been filled at 11 o'clock, 
and thousands had vainly endeavored to secure admission. At 12 o'clock 
President Grant and the President-elect entesed arm-in-arm. The oath of 
office was administered for a second time, and the inaugural address delivered 
at the inaivgural stand, east front of the Capitol. Mr. Hayes had already taken 
the oath of office at the Executive Mansion on Saturday, the 4th faUing on 
Sunday. He read his inaugural, in a clear voice, from a small manuscript 
book. The procession escorted President Hayes back to the Executive Man- 
sion, and broke ranks aft Eighteenth street. In the evening there was a grand 
torchlight procession. Fireworks, calcium lights, and Chinese lanterns also 
made the streets brilli|int. An inaugural reception was held at Willard's Hall, 
under the auspices of the Columbus Cadets. The names of Hon. John Sher- 
man, General Garfield, General Sherman, Judge Lawrence, Hon. Lorenzo Dun- 
ford, Hon. James Monroe, and John L. Savage are given as constituting the 
reception committee. 

15 



218 
APPENDIX B. 



PRESIDENTS WHO 'DIED IN OFFICE— HARRISON, TAYLOR AND 

LINCOLN. 

The period of anxiety and distress through which the people of the country have 
just passed recalls former similar reasons of national sorrow and suspense. Three 
Presidents of the United States have died in office — William Henry Harrison, 
Zachary Taylor and Abraham Lincoln. The horror wliich thrilled the country at 
the announcement of the shooting of Lincoln by the assassin Booth, the hours of 
painful suspense that followed, and the profound grief of the people when the end 
came, are still fresh in the memory of many of our readers. 

THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT HARRISON— OFFICIAL REPORT OF THE PHYSICIANS 
— LAST WORDS OF THE DECEASED. 

On the 4th day of April, 1841, the Secretary of State received the following letter 
and report : 

Washington, D. C, April 4, 1841. 

Dear Sir : In compliance with the request made to us by yourself and the 
other gentlemen of the Cabinet, the attending and consulting physicians have 
drawn up the abstract of a report on the President's case, which I herewith trans- 
mit to you. 

Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

Thomas Miller, Attending Physician. 
To the Hon. D. Webster, Secretary of State: 

On Saturday, March 27, 1841, Pi esident Harrison, after several days' previous 
indisposition, was seized with a chill and other symptoms of a fever. Tlie next 
daj' pbeumonia, with congestion of the liver and derangement of the stomacii and 
bowels. Mas ascertained to exist. The age and debility of the patient, with the 
immeaiate prostration, forbade a resort to general blood-letting. Topical deple- 
tion, blistering and appropriate internal remedies subdued, in a great measure, 
the disease of the lungs and liver, but the stomach and intestines did not regain a 
healthy condition. Finally, on the 3d of April, at 3 o'clock P. M., profuse diar- 
rhoea came on, under which he sank, at 12:30 on the morning of the 4th. The 
last words uttered by the President, as heard by Dr. Worthington, were these : 
"Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of the Government ; I wish them 
carried out; I ask notliina: more." — Tnomas Miller, M. D., attending phvsician; 
Fred May, M. D.; N. W. Worthington, M. D.; J. C. Hall, M. D.; Ashton Alexan- 
der, M. i)., consulting physicims. 

succession of vice-president TYLER TO THE PRESIDENCY— POINTS RAISED 
AND SETTLED IN CONGRESS. 

John Tyler, tlie Vice-President, succeeded to the Presidency by the death of 
President Harrison. At the extra session, May 31, 1841, Mr. Henry A. Wise 
moved to appoint a committee to wait upon the President and inform him that 
the House of Representatives was now organized and ready to proceed to busi- 
ness. 

Mr. John Mcilveon, then a member of the House of Representatives from New 
York city, proposed to amend this resolution by striking out the word President 
and inserting "Vice-President now exercising the office of President of the United 
States." 

He contended, and with an ingenious argument from his point of view, that 
the Vice-President did not become President by the death of General Harrison, 
and that only "the powers and duties of the office" devolved upon him, while the 
office itself was vacant. 



219 

Mr. Wise answered : "He was glad the point had been raised because the vote 
on the amendment would settle the relation in which we stood to the President 
cf the United States. And he must be permitted to say that the present incum- 
bent would claim the position, that he was, by the Constitution, by election, and 
by the act of God, President of the United States." 

Mr. McKeon asked the yeas and nays on the amendment, whicli were refused. 
Mr. In^ersoU moved an adjournment, (which became the test,) and tbe House, by 
yeas SO, nays not counted, refused to adjourn. 

The question was taken on Mr. McKeon 's resolution, and it was rejected (without 
a vote reported;) and the resolution (of Mr. Wise) was adopted. 

These are all the proceedings of the House on this question, as reported in the 
Congressional Glohe. 

In the Senate, Mr, Allen, of Ohio, move to amend the resolution by striking out 
the words " President of the United States," and inserting in lieu thereof ''the 
Vice- President, on whom, by the death of the late President, the powers and duties 
of the office of President have been devolved." He said his "sole and simple 
object was to obtain an expression of the sense of the Senate oti an important 
question in the interpretation of the Constitution, now arising for the first time." 

Mr. Tappan, of Ohio, held that the Constitution did not declare in any of the 
contingencies of removal, death, resignation, or inability that the Vice-President, 
while exercising the powers and duties of the office, became President of the 
United States. 

Mr. Walker, of Mississippi — " It is then the office that devolves on the Vice- 
President. He is not the Vice President acting as President, as in the contingency 
of the death of the President and Vice-President ; but he ceases to be the Vice- 
President ; he is no longer the Vice-President, and the office of President is 
devolved on him." 

The discussion closed with some further remarks by Mr. Allen, and as the Globe 

saj's : 

" The question was then taken on the amendment (of Mr. Allen) and it was dis- 
agreed to— nays, 38 ; yeas, 8, as follows : 

"Yeas, Allen, Benton, Henderson, Linn, McRoberts, Tappan, Williams and 
Wright— 8. 

"Nays — Archer, Barrow, B^te', Bayard, Berrien, Buchanan, Calhoun, Choate, 
Clay, Clayton, Dixon, Evans, Fulton, Graham, Huntington, Ker, King, Mangum,> 
Merrick, Miller, Morehead, Nicholson, Pierc', Porter, Prentiss, Preston, Rives, 
Sevier, Simmons, Smith of Indiana, Southard, Sturgeon, Tallmadge, Walker, 
White, Woodbridge, Woodbury, and Young— 38." 

Congress thus, by overwhelming votes in both houses and of both parties, 
decided that the Vice-President became President absolutely, and not provisionally, 
nor technically, nor conditionally, in case of the death of the President. Death is 
one of the four conditions described in the Constitution, wherein " the powers and 
duties of the said office" devolve upon the Vice-President. Such was the decis- 
ion of the '27th Congress on this question. 

THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT TAYIiOR— AN ACGOUNT OF HIS LAST ILLNESS. 

The following is an article which appeared In a city newspaper, on the morn- 
ing of July 9, 1850. under the caption of "The President's Healih : " 

"It being generally known that President Ta\ lor had been much indisposed for 
two or three days past, great anxiety was excited yesterday by information, which 
spread through the city, that his illness had assumed a very serious and critical 
aspect. This was really the case, we learn, during the greater part of the day. Irk 
the afternoon, however, the symptoms became less menacing. His illness com- 
menced on Friday last, wi' h an attack of cholera morbus, which appeared to yield 
to medical treatment, but it afterward assumed a difterent and more threatening 
type. 

" The following bulletin indicates his condition at 10 o'clock last night : 
" ' The President is laboring under a bilious remittent fever, following an 
attack of severe cholera morbus, and is considered by his physicians seriously 
ill. July 8, 10 P. M.' " 



220 



THE CABINET NOTIFY MU. FILLMORE OF THE DEATH OF THE PRESIDENT. 

The rresident died the evening of Sunday, and the following official notice 
was sent to his B-cessor^^^^^^^^^^ of State WashinotonJ^J^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

MILLARD Fillmore, President of the United f totes--S|^ ; The ^elanchoiy 
andSos't'^painful duty devolves on us o announce t^^^- «^\\^tft/esTdJnt'8 
late President of the Umted States is no more^m^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^y 

Mansion this evening at half -past ten o clock. ^|e ji'J^^ Secretary of State ; 

torney-General. 

MR. FILLMORE'S REPLY. 

Washington, July 9, 1850. 
mony. Respectfully, yours, Millard xiLi. 

MR. FILLMORE RESIGNS THE PRESIDENCY OF THE SENATE. 

Washington, July 10, 1850. 
ceed to the choice of a presiding officer. Millard 

MR. FILLMORE ANNOUNCES TO CONGRESS THE PRESIDENT'S DEATH, AND RE- 
PEATS HIS LAST WORDS 

Washington, July 10, 1850. 

FellovycUizens of the Senate and of the House of ^.^J'^f^^'^i^'U^^^^ 
foLthemelanc^dutyofannou^^^^ 

eLjl!atic totinctness :-'■ I have always done my duty ; I am ready to die , 

the office which this event has devolved upon me. ^^^^^^^ Fillmore. 

message of president FILLMORE IN RELATION TO THE OBSEQUIES OF 
. HIS PREDECESSOR. 

Washington, July 10, 1850. 
Si^?S?i-^ll^a«rlS'S;lrrafinteL^=f^^^^^^ 



221 

affectionate regard of the American people for the memory of one whose life 
has been devoted to the public service— whose career in arms has not been 
surpassed in usefulness and brilliancy— who has been so recently raised by the 
unsolicited voice of the people to the highest civil authority in the Govern- 
ment, which he administered with so much honor and advantage to his coun- 
try, and by whose sudden death so many hopes of future usefulness have been 
blighted forever. 

To you. Senators and Representatives of a nation in tears, I can say nothing 
which can alleviate the sorrow with which you are oppressed. I appeal to you 
to aid me, under the trying circumstances which surround me, in the dis- 
charge of the duties from which, however much I may be oppressed by them, 
I dare not shrink; and I rely upon Him who holds in His hands the destinies 
of nations, to endow me with the requisite strength for the task, and to avert 
from our country the evils apprehended from the heavy calamity which has 
befallen us. 

I shall most readily concur in whatever measures the wisdom of the two 
houses may suggest as befitting this deeply melancholy oocasion. 

MiLLAKD Fillmore. 

THE ASSASSINATION OF PRESIDENT LINCOLN— DETAILS OF inS DEATH, AND 
THE SUCCESSION OF ANDREW JOHNSON TO THE PRESIDENCY. 

Though sixteen years have elapsed, the occurrences attending the assassina- 
tion of President Lincoln and the succession of the Vice-President, Andrew 
Johnson, to the Presidency are still fresh in the memory. President Lincoln 
on the night of April 14, 1865. attended a performance of "Our American 
Cousin" at Ford's Theater, on Tenth street. He was assassinated there at 
half-past 10 o'clock, while sitting in his private box with Mrs. Lincoln, Miss 
Harris, and Major Rathburn. The assassin, who approached from behind the 
President, after firing the fatal shot, leaped upon the stage, brandishing a dag- 
ger, and escaped by a rear entrance before the crowded audience realized that 
a terrible crime had been committed. The wounded President was borne to 
the house of Mr. Petersen, opposite the theater, where he lay unconscious 
until his death, which occurred at twenty minutes past 7 o'clock on the 
following morning. Ko one who was in "Washington that night will ever for- 
get the wild excitement that racked the reason of the strongest men. A mur- 
derous assault made upon Secretary Seward at his residence on Lafayette 
square, about the same time, increased the popular agitation. 

President Lincoln died at twenty-two minutes past 7 o'clock in the morning. 
He closed his eyes as if falling asleep. There was no indication of pain, and 
it was not known that he was dead until the gradually-decreasing respiration 
ceased altogether. Rev. Dr. Gurley, of the New York Avenue Presbyterian 
church, immediately on its being learned that life was extinct, knelt at the 
bedside and offered an impressive prayer, which was responded to by all present. 
Dr. Gurley then proceeded to the front parlor of the house, where the members 
of the President's family were assembled, and again offered prayer ftor the con- 
solation of the family. Immediately after the President's death a Cabinet , 
meeting was called by Secretary Stanton, and held in the room where the body 
lay. A little after 9 o'clock in the morning the remains, having been placed in 
a temporary cofiin, were borne to the White House, escorted by a detachment 
of cavalry. 

VICE-PRESIDENT JOHNSON INAUGURATED. 

At an early hour on the morning of the 15th Secretary Stanton sent a com- 
munication to Vice-President Johnson notifying him of the death of the Chief 
Magistrate, and requesting liim to state the place and hour at which his inau- 
guration as President should take place. Mr. Johnson at once replied that it 
would be agreeable to him to have the proceedings take place at his rooms in 
the Kirkwood House as soon as the arrangements could be perfected. The 
Kirkwood House then occupied the site where the Pension Oflice now stands. 
The Evening Star, of April 15, 1865, gives the following account of the brief 
ceremony of inauguration : 

"Chief Justice Chase was informed of the fact, and repaired to the appointed 
place in company with Secretary McCulloch, of the Treasury, Mr. Attorney- 
General Speed, F. P. Blair, Sr., Hon. Montgomery Blair, Senators Foot, of 



222 



Vermont; Eamsey, of Minnesota; Yates, of Illinois; Stewart, of Xevada; Hale, 
of New Hampshire, and General Farnsworth, of Illinois. At 11 o'clock the 
oath of office was administered by the Cliief Jnstice of the United States, in 
his usual solemn and impressive manner. Mr. Johnson received the kind ex- 
pressions of the gentlemen by whom lie was surrounded in a manner which 
showed his earnest sense of the great responsibilities so suddenly devolved 
upon him, and made a brief speech, in which he said: 'The duties of the office 
are mine; I will perform them : the consequences are with God. Gentlemen, 
I shall lean upon you; I feel that I shall need your support. I am deeply im- 
pressed with the solemnity of the occasion and the responsibility of the duties 
of the office I am assuming.' " 

The funeral of President Liu coin took place from the White House on Thurs- 
day, April 20th. Tlie body lay in state in tlie East Koom. where years before 
the bodies of Presidents Harrison and Taylor had lain in state. The remains 
were escorted by an immense procession to tlie Capitol, where services Avere 
held and the remains lay in state until the followin^g day, when they were re- 
moved to the railroad station and shipped on their journey to Springfield, 111. 
Immediately after the death of President Lincoln, President Johnson occu- 
pied a room in the Treasury building, wiiere he transacted public business, and 
did not take possession of the White House for several weeks. 

The official announcement of liis inauguration was issued on the afternoon 
of the 15th of April, and was as follows: 

War Department, 
Washington, April 15, 3 P. M. 
Major-General Dix, New York .- 

Official notice of the death of the late President was given by the heads of 
Departments this morning to Andrew Johnson, Vice-President, upon whom 
the Constitution devolved the office of President. Mr. Johnson, on receiving 
the notice, appeared before the Hon. Salmon P. Chase, Chief Justice of the 
United States, and took the oath of office as President of the United States, 
and assumed the duties and functions. At 12 o'clock the President met the 
heads of the Departments in the Cabinet meeting at the Treasury building, 
and among other business the following was transacted : 

First: The arrangements for the funeral of the late President was referred 
to the several Secretaries as far as relates to their respective departments. 

Second: Wm. Hunter, Esq., was appointed Acting-Secretary of State, dur- 
ing the disability of Secretary Sew^,rd and his son, Frederick Seward, the as- 
sistant secretary. 

Third: The President formally announced that he desir.ed to retain the pres- 
ent Secretaries of Departments as his Cabnet. and that they would go on and 
discharge their respective duties in the same manner as before the deplorable 
event that had changed the head of the Government. 

Edwin M. Stanton, Secretary of War. 




The Vice-Presidents whc succeeie ! to the P esidencv 



223 
APPENDIX C. 



ASSASSINATION OF RULERS. 

It is a curious face that no King of England or Emperor of Germany has ever 
fallen a victim to an assassin, although several attempts have been made on the 
present monarch" of these countries. There are murders enough of a very brutal 
sort on record in English history of both actual occupants of the throne and heirs 
to it, but they all were done openly befoi-e the world, as if the perpetrators 
scorned to conceal their deeds, or as if they felt that they had the rigiit to perform 
summary execution. The only case in English .history in which tlie real guilty 
party sought concealment is the murder of the two young Princes in the Tower of 
London, the circumstances of which have been told to fveiy visitor. Sevei'al 
Popes have fallen victims to tlie daggers of assassins, and Henry of Navarre, one 
of France's ablest monarchs, met the same fate. The killing of M irat by Char- 
lotte Courday was also an assassination ia the true sense of the word. Russia 
has the longest record of such crimes to show so far, but the United S::ates seem 
to be in a fair way of taking at least an undisputed second place. The attempts 
at assassination have been paiticularly numerous during the past third of a century, 
or since the use of fire-arms and the scientific use of gunpowder have been per- 
fected. A list of these, successful and unsuccessful, is at this time particularly 
interesting : 

ISJrS — November 26 — The life of the Duke of Modeaa was attempted. 

1849 — June 21 — the Crown Prince of Prussia was attacked at Minden. 

1851 — May 22— Sofelnqne, a workman, shot at Frederick William IV, King of 
Pussia, and broke his fureanu. 

1850— June 28 — Robert Pate, an ex-lieutenant in the army, attempted to assas- 
sinate Queen Victoria. 

1852— September 24— An infernal machine was found at Marseilles, with which 
it had been ini ended to destroy Napoleon III. 

1853 — February 18 — The Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria was grievously 
wounded in the head while walking on the ramparts at Vieana by a Hungarian 
tailor named Libzens. 

1853 — April 16 — An attempt on the life of Victor Emmanuel was reported to the 
Italian Chamber. 

1S53 — July 5 — An attempt was made to kill Napoleon III as he was entering the 
Opera Comique. 

1855 — March 20 — Ferdinand Charles HI, Duke of Parma, was killed by an 
unknown man, who stabbed him in the abdomen. 

1855 — April 28 — Napoleon III was fired on at the Champs Elysees by Giovanni 
Pianeri. 

1856 — April 28 — Raymond Fuentas was arrested in the act of firing on Isabella, 
Queen of Spain. 

1856— Dec. 8 — Agesilas Milano, a soldier, stabbed Ferdinand III, of Naples, 
with his bayonet. 

1867 — Aug. 7 — Napoleon III again. Barcolefcti, Gibaldi and Grillo were sen- 
tenced to death for co T)ing from London to assassinate him. 

1858 — Jan. 14 — Napoleon HI for the fifth time. Orsini and his associates threw 
fulminating bombs at him as he was on his way to the opera. 

1861 — July 14 — King William of Prussia was for the first time shot at by Oscar 
Becker, a student, at Baden-Baden. Becker fired twice at him, but missed him. 

1862— December 18— A student named Dessios fired a pistol at Queen Amalia, 
of Greece, (Princess of Oldenberg) at Athens. 

1863— December 24 — Four more conspirators from London against the life of 
Napoleon III were arrested at Paris. 

1865— April 14— President Lincoln was shot by J. "Wilkes Booth. 

1866— April 6— A Russian named Kavarsoff attempted Czar Alexander's 
life at St. Petersburg. He was foiled by a peasant, who was ennobled for the 
deed. 



224 



1867-The Char's life was attempted on June 6, during the great Exposition, 
at a review in the Bois de Boulogne, at Pans. 
}^S=£e%'o-PxScf S^^^^ Serbia, was killed by the brothers Rad- 

"^ Isn-The life of Amadeus, then newly King of Spain, ^^s attempted 
1872-August-Colonel Gutieriez'^assassinated President Balta, of the Repub- 

^^^iSTS-^fanuary 1-President Morales, of Bolivia, was assassinated. 
1875-S-iist-President Garcia Maeno, of Ecuador, was assassinated. 
IsTG-Sulton Abdul-Aziz was killed in his palace by order of his ministers, 

^'l877^1.june-President Gill, of Paraguay, was assassinated by. Commander 

■^?87S-Mav U-The Emperor William, of Germany, was shot at again, this 
time b"^ Sile Henri Max Hoedel, alias Lehmann, the socialist. Lehmann 
Stlu-e^ shots at the Emperor, who was returning from a drive with the 

^^^^^r^^^'^^i^ by Dr. Kobling, while out riding. 

^?8?S^?il1r_^il^^^^^ Petersburg by one 

't&e^em'ber l-TSetsSnation of the Czar attempted by a mine under 

^ \'S9-TceSiTo-The King of Spain was shot at while driving with the 

^S-Eebruary 17- Attempt to kill the royal family of Russia by blowing up 
thl Winter Palace. Eight soldiers were killed and f orty-hve wounded . 
^ 1881-Maixh 13-The Czar, Alexander II., killed by a bomb. ^,,.,i , 

1881-JiiTy 2-The President of the United States, James Abram Garfleld, 
kiUed by Charles Julius Guiteau. 



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